Sugar daddies: The new way to pay off college loans?

[SuperDuper! 230]

Sugar daddies: The new way to pay off college loans?

The Week – Tue, Aug 2, 2011

Facing massive student loans and poor job prospects, a growing number of coeds are apparently hunting for "sugar daddy" saviors

As the cost of college skyrockets, and students and recent graduates get buried under "piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy," more and more of them are turning to "sugar daddies," says Amanda Fairbanks at The Huffington Post. Sites like SeekingArrangement.com, SeekingTuition.com, and SugarDaddyMeet.com allow young, mostly female students to post "sugar baby" profiles and hook up with a "sugar daddy" for "mutually beneficial relationships," which often involve a trade of money for companionship and sex. Is this a new way for today's 20-somethings to pay for college? Here, a brief guide:

Is this for real?

Apparently. Seeking Arrangement founder Brandon Wade, 41, says he's seen a 350 percent jump in verified college-going

"sugar babies" since 2007, and he now actively advertises his site as a way to pay off student loans. "College students are

one of the biggest segments of our sugar babies and the numbers are growing all the time." And several academic studies back that up. The rise in sex-for-tuition arrangements is "really the perfect storm of debt and a down economy, not to mention a generation of middle-class women coming of age who were raised to believe that their sexuality isn't something to be afraid of," says British sociology professor Ronald Roberts.

How exactly do "sugar daddy" sites work?

"Sugar daddies" and "sugar mommies" pay anywhere from $50 a month to $2,400 a year — which puts you in the elite, profile-boosting Diamond Club at Seeking Arrangement — to offer their largesse to "sugar babies," mostly under-25 women, who post their profiles for free. The sugar baby and daddy usually chat before meeting, and their "dates" can include lavish meals out or shopping sprees — and sometimes, sex. In some longer-term arrangements, the sugar baby gets a monthly stipend.

How is this different than prostitution?

It isn't, says Jenée Desmond-Harris at The Root. Don't let the "sweet names" fool you. Nonsense, says Las Vegas attorney Allen Lichtenstein. "Any relationship that is an ongoing one that's not purely about sex but may have a sexual aspect to it, you can't really classify as prostitution. It would simply cover too much ground." Right, and a Las Vegas lawyer is "obviously the most qualified judge of morality," says Colleen Stufflebeem at Death + Taxes. These sites are "getting away with blatant prostitution," period.

OK, but is there anything wrong with these arrangements?

No, it's just older, successful men "paying to break the ice" with younger women, says Seeking Arrangement's Wade. And "if you're an attractive person, time is very valuable because you get a lot of attention and asked out a lot of the time. This is an opportunity for you to be compensated." Gross, says Stufflebeem. And what's really "uncomfortable" about the "sugar" arrangements is that "while the 'babies' are consenting, they're likely doing so more out of desperation than enjoyment."

http://news.yahoo.co...-151200599.html

Edited August 4, 2011 by Boing!

[nane1104 146]

That's a pretty long article to describe a very old concept.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

That's a pretty long article to describe a very old concept.

[pecanlovE 1]

This is a prof that we are still in hard times.Education loan debt is a distressing fact of life for scores of young 20-somethings in the U.S. But some women and men see a debt escape path that a new form of online dating makes easily available. According to The Huffington Post, websites like Seeking Arrangement make it simple for such students to market themselves to rich, older partners as "sugar babies".

Edited August 4, 2011 by Kathryn41
to remove spam advertising link

[Niels Bohr 72]

I'm confused. What's a sugar daddy or sugar baby or sugar mommy?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I'm confused. What's a sugar daddy or sugar baby or sugar mommy?

Think of an old, decrepit man with a young woman hanging on his arm. She's his arm candy or he's providing the sugar.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

I'm confused. What's a sugar daddy or sugar baby or sugar mommy?

As far as I know, this.

Think of an old, decrepit man with a young woman hanging on his arm. She's his arm candy or he's providing the sugar.

Rupert Murdoch?

Edited August 4, 2011 by IR5FORMUMSIE

[Craneman 2]

Sounds like a overseas dating site to me.

Older men looking for much younger women, and willing to pay.

Think of an old, decrepit man with a young woman hanging on his arm. She's his arm candy or he's providing the sugar.