The product: a young woman, likely a college student or a recent graduate who may or may not be financially stable. She wears a designer dress so well that she could put Kim Kardashian to shame. Her hair and makeup are flawless (she spent hours getting ready) and she glides confidently into the room on five-inch heels. She’s feminine, smart, beautiful and successful. She’s a sugar baby.
The investor: an older gentleman, usually in his 40s or 50s, who seeks company. He may or may not be married, but he’s definitely successful. He’s a businessman, likely an executive who knows what he wants — and he wants her. Hello, sugar daddy.
A mutually beneficial relationship like this one is becoming increasingly common. Young women turn to online sugar dating sites in hopes of finding a sugar daddy to help take care of pesky student loan debt, tuition, rent and more. On top of this, many sugar daddies like to spoil their babies with expensive gifts. Sugar babies are in the business of themselves. Rich, older men are their buyers and investors.
You’re probably thinking that selling yourself as a business sounds a lot like prostitution. Well, the difference between a prostitute and a sugar baby is that the sugar baby isn’t selling herself. Every relationship consists of different negotiations.
If it happens, it’s a consensual development, the way it would be in any other typical relationship. Sugar daddies aren’t paying for the girl, but rather providing incentive for her to spend time with him. In essence, she’s a well-paid girlfriend. Considering that 2014 college graduates were the most indebted grads ever, with an average $33,000 in loan debt, it seems reasonable that sugar dating has become more and more common.
But, that’s not to say these girls are acting out of desperation. Most sugar babies seem to enjoy the lifestyle sugar dating provides for them. Girls who do succeed as sugar babies have high standards. They expect luxury because they believe their time is damn valuable. They expect to be duly compensated for the work they put into creating a highly demanded product.
Of course, the sugar life isn’t without downsides. Many girls feel they have to conceal their arrangements from friends and family, for fear of disapproval. Nearly all sugar babies use fake names, alternate emails and phone numbers in dealings with their sugar daddies. They take careful measures to protect their identities because, on the whole, sugar babies are ambitious.
They plan to become CEOs, founders, entrepreneurs, partners and producers. And, the reality of the situation is that if someday, a potential employer found out that his candidate used to be a sugar baby, she has a high chance of being eliminated. Is it right? I don’t think so. But, it’s a possibility and one that’s imminent enough to cause sugar babies to be very, very careful. They are tough, no-nonsense women, who know what they want. The fact that being a sugar baby allows these women to spend time around successful and wealthy people is yet another incentive.
It’s not that she wants to leech onto one of them, but rather, she wants to educate herself on how to become a successful, self-sufficient person herself. An entrepreneur is a businessperson who creates and operates a business, who takes on greater risk than the average person in hopes that it pays off. By that definition, sugar babies are unquestionably entrepreneurs.
So, let’s raise a glass to these smart, confident and driven women. Even if we don’t want their relationships, we can all admire their ambition, their confidence and their focus on success. It just may be that Sugar babies are the next generation of entrepreneurs so cheers to that.