# Sugar dating

Relationships (Outline) :
Types
Genetic or adoptive
Kinship
Family
Stepfamily
Parent
Father
Mother
Son
Daughter
Grandparent
Sibling
Brother
Sister
Cousin
Aunt
Uncle
Niece and nephew
By marriage
Spouse
Husband
Wife
Open marriage
Polygamy
Polyandry
Polygyny
Group marriage
Mixed-orientation
Partner(s)
Significant other
Boyfriend
Girlfriend
Cohabitation
Long-distance
Online
Same-sex
Queerplatonic
Friendship (romantic / cross-sex / zone)
Intimate and sexual
Casual
Monogamy
Non-monogamy
Mutual monogamy
Polyamory
Polyfidelity
Affair
Cicisbeo
Concubinage
Courtesan
Mistress :
Activities
Bonding
Courtship
Dating
Engagement
Bachelor's Day
Mating
Meet market
Romance
Singles event
Wedding :
Endings
Breakup
Legal/marital separation
Annulment
Divorce
Widowhood :
Emotions and feelings
Affinity
Attachment
Intimacy
Jealousy
Limerence
Love
Platonic
Unconditional
Passion
Sexuality :
Practices
Bride price
dower
dowry
service
Homogamy
Hypergamy
Infidelity
Sexual activity
Transgression
Repression :
Abuse
Child
Dating
Domestic
Elderly
Narcissistic parent
Controlling behavior
Stalking :
vte :
Sugar dating, also called sugaring, is an interpersonal relationship wherein a financially successful person dates a less financially successful person (hypergamy). 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. 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.
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. Sugar dating is especially popular in the online dating community due to the easy access to specific niches and desires.

## Prevalence

The phenomenon of powerful men using their money to attract women is old. At the end of the 19th century in the United States, in a phenomenon known as treating, women with low-paying jobs relied upon men to provide them with money in exchange for being an escort.
With the rising costs in tuition, cuts to scholarships and bursaries, and the increasing pressures of student debt, sugar dating has become prevalent among students. Research suggests that there is a growing phenomenon of female university students working in the sex industry to pay for their post-secondary education. Due to the nature and stigmatization of sex work in the marginalized and hidden population, there is limited information on the percentage of students participating in these types of relationships. Those that decide to participate in sugar often use various websites to come in contact with these people. Membership on one site in 2016 was US$70 per month for sugar daddies or mommies, but free for sugar babies.
Attitudes towards sugar relationships are shaped by economic conditions, societal norms, psychological traits, and cultural values. Research has found openness to these arrangements is related to traditional gender roles, sociosexual orientation, parasite-stress theory, economic inequality, individualism, and personality traits like the Dark Triad.

## Legality and comparison to sex work

There is debate about whether this practice can be considered sex work; i.e., purchase of intimate attention, sexual or otherwise. In an article from Deutsche Welle, the CEO of SeekingArrangement denied that the site played host to prostitutes and their customers, saying that "escorts and their clients are never welcome on our sites".
In Malaysia, sugar dating is illegal, to the point where the CEO of Malaysian sugar dating company Sugarbook was arrested and their website blocked by Malaysian Internet service providers.
Sugaring has been called the modern-day counterpart of the courtesan, "a prostitute, especially one with wealthy or upper-class clients."