Meaning and Exchange in Sugar Arrangements

• In Event: 035 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Sex and Gender Roundtables (one-hour).Table 01. Economies of Sex and Gender

Abstract

This paper examines “sugar arrangements”, which involve wealthy older men known as “sugar daddies” providing gifts and payment in exchange for companionship from attractive younger women known as “sugar babies”, as a facet of changes in romantic courtship over the past several decades. Specifically, this paper examines the following questions: 1) How are sugar baby and sugar daddy identities constructed and understood by participants in sugar arrangements? 2) What are the terms of exchange in sugar arrangements and how is value determined? To answer these questions, I conduct a discourse analysis of profiles, blog posts, and blog comments from the sugar arrangement website SeekingArrangement.com. I find that, while there is some variation amongst participants, making it difficult to offer a singular definition of sugar arrangements, there are a few striking patterns. For one, while there is some sense of gender non-conformity, there is ultimately a stronger tendency towards male power, as sugar daddies tend to be wealthier than sugar babies and there are significantly more sugar babies than sugar daddies in the sugar circuit. Sugar babies are largely valued for their looks, whereas sugar daddies are largely valued for their economic means. I also find that a taboo against sex work exists in sugar arrangements, with sugar arrangements constructed as being qualitatively different from sex work. Despite the emphasis placed on wealth in sugar arrangements, this taboo against sex work appears to lower the payment for exchanges often involving sex to levels lower than those received by sex workers.

Author

• Carmen Rowe, Boston University