“A very weird hobby that I make money from”: Intimacy-Economy Nexus in Sugar Relationships

• In Event: 30280 - Consuming Authenticity: Blurring Distinctions across Work and Play

Abstract

While scholars have long been interested in the concept of intimacy and its role in contemporary societies, until recently, few have examined it in the context of sex work. Using sugar dating as a case study, this study examines how do intimate relations and economic transactions intersect in sugar relationships; a sugar relationship is an arrangement that provides intimacy, companionship, and other forms of attention in exchange for a variety of personal benefits, including financial support, material items, professional advancement, and/or mentorship. Through in-depth interviews with 28 sugar babies in the U.S., I examine how sugar workers experience intimacy in this economic relationship and how the economic aspects of the relationship shape the intimacy between sugar babies and parents. Most sugar workers report finding sugar dating more emotionally rewarding and fiscally beneficial than romantic dating. To explain this, I have developed the concept of gig intimacy, which I define as temporally limited, commodified, yet intimate economic relationships based on emotional risk and emotional connection.

Author

• Srushti Upadhyay, Purdue University