Sugar dating

Sugar dating, also called sugaring,[1] is a quasiromantic or pseudoromantic relationship wherein a financially successful person dates a less financially successful person. Typically, the financially successful person is older and wealthy, while the other person is typically younger, attractive, and interested in improving their quality of life.[2] Sugaring can be classified as a compensatory relationship whereby the recipient obtains gifts such as jewelry, luxury goods, leisure outings, vacations, fine dining, financial support, or mentorship, meanwhile offering social benefits such as companionship, affection, dating or intimacy.[3][4][5]

The gift recipient is called a sugar baby, and male sugar babies are referred to as gigolos. The providing partner is called a sugar daddy or sugar mommy.[6] Sugar dating is especially popular in the online dating community due to the easy access to specific niches and desires.[7]

  1. ^ Pardiwalla, Anahita (20 April 2016). "Sugaring: A New Kind of Irresistible". Huffington Post.
  2. ^ Recio, Rocío Palomeque (January 2022). "Blurred lines: Technologies of heterosexual coercion in "sugar dating"". Feminism & Psychology. 32 (1): 44–61. doi:10.1177/09593535211030749. ISSN 0959-3535.
  3. ^ Upadhyay, Srushti (24 July 2021). "Sugaring: Understanding the World of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies". The Journal of Sex Research. 58 (6): 775–784. doi:10.1080/00224499.2020.1867700. ISSN 0022-4499.
  4. ^ Nelson, Rochelle (6 November 2014). "'Sugar Baby' Reveals Why Married Men Cheat with Her for Thousands of Dollars". Huffington Post.
  5. ^ Motyl, J (2013). "Trading sex for college tuition: How sugar daddy "dating" sites may be sugarcoating prostitution". Penn State Law Review. 117 (3): 927–957.
  6. ^ "Meaning of sugar daddy in English". Cambridge Dictionary. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Sugardaddie.com Dating Blog Meeting Online: The Past, Present and Future of Dating | Sugardaddie.com". 13 April 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2022.