Sugar Baby Research Paper
Sugar Daddy/ Baby Ethnographic Research Design In the dating world today, technology has created complex relationships that were not easily accessible or available before the advancement in user-friendly technologies. Online dating has become a main contender on how a person meets their spouse, but online dating has also created new websites that aren’t about “dating”, but about status and commodification. My research focuses on such relationships, known as sugar daddy and sugar baby relationships in the city of Jackson, MS. A sugar daddy is an older man who has a high income that seeks a younger, attractive women to be his arm candy, his sexual partner, or simply his companion. In return, the sugar baby seeks an older man who can give her an “allowance”, which she may use on bills, rent, tuition payments, or to live a lavish lifestyle. These relationships are complex due to the fact that they do not rely on personality or lifelong companionship as the end result, but are mainly temporary, secret relationships that fulfil certain
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needs on both sides. On an academic level, the study of sugar daddy/baby relations has been largely reduced to thinly veiled prostitution. The research done has mainly been involved with law and social issues; since prostitution is illegal, there is special attention on the money exchange that occurs in sugar daddy/baby relationships. Many feminists, myself included, feel that these types of relationships create a commodification of women rather than the wealth that is involved. Many scholars worry that seeking a sugar daddy will make the women involved dependent on a man for her meal ticket, or “trading sex for tuition”, something that the 21st century is trying to break. While the problems surrounding women being given “gifts” in exchange for sex, arm candy, and companionship are very real and damaging to the women involved, I seek to understand how the sugar babies feel empowered through having these relationships. The current feminist agenda is to explore how women are gaining self-esteem and self-worth through their careers, relationships, and social lives. The aspect of being a sugar baby as something that could be an empowerment benefit, as well as a monetary one, is a topic that has little literature. I intend to preform extensive research in order to gain understanding on why sugar babies seek out sugar daddies for their own gain. This will be done through the platform of “Seeking Arrangement” which is a popular sugar daddy/ baby relationship. The two populations that will be interviewed are separated by gender; one being the sugar daddies, and the other being the sugar babies. They are also differentiated by their status, since a main factor of the sugar daddy/baby relationship revolves around money and statues. Sugar daddies who are on Seeking Arrangement are required to pay $50.00 dollars a month a regular membership, or $1,200.00 dollars a month for a diamond membership, which includes a tax verification, since the requirement to be a sugar daddy is to have a net worth of at least 2 million dollars. The sugar babies are free to join Seeking Arrangement; the only requirement is not an official one- being young, pretty, and fun. By exploring the dynamics of the two facets of sugar daddy/baby relationships, I will be able to understand if being a sugar baby is more empowering than it is degrading.
Because this will be an in-depth research project, my timeline will be to accurately gain data from both populations in the span of one year (January 2016 to December 2016). In order to spend the time I need living in the city where I conduct my interviews, as well as travel to functions for Seeking Arrangement events, my budget for the span of research is $5,000 dollars. In order to accurately gain insight on the inner-workings of sugar daddies and sugar babies, I will conduct formal and informal interviews of local sugar babies from the popular website “Seeking Arrangement”, as well as attend parties and events that are thrown by the website. My main method of data collection will be in the form of the snowball method; I have an informant who is involved as a sugar baby, and she is able to arrange informal interviews with other sugar babies in the area. By interviewing the local sugar babies, I can establish their true feelings on the sugar daddy/ baby relationship in a relaxed setting. Since the subject matter deals with personal and sexual relationships, the interviewees with remain anonymous unless otherwise stated.
I will also use participant observation as a research method. Because Seeking Arrangement hosts so many events, I will be able to attend the functions as if I was part of the sugar daddy/ baby community. This will allow me to observe the dynamics of the relationships, as well as the space that they share together. While researching in these formal and informal spaces, I have complied a list of key questions to ask in order to get the most accurate data:
• “What made you want to sign-up to be a sugar baby on Seeking Arrangement?”
• “Have you ever felt uncomfortable when meeting a potential sugar daddy?”
• “Do you feel that being a sugar baby is something that is seen as degrading?”
• “Can you name some ways in which you have certain freedoms from having a sugar daddy?”
• “Has this experience changed your mind on marriage or female roles?”
Once I have collected this data, I plan to rewrite my field notes in a way that is themed and organized.
Since a majority of the research is done in informal settings, a lot of my notes will be in the form of handwritten observations, and these notes will be converted into digital copies. I will also have to transcribe my interview recordings from the sugar babies, as well as the recordings from the events from Seeking Arrangement that I will attend. An important aspect of understanding the space of sugar daddy/ baby relationships is using mapping to view how the different populations interact. For example, I will map out how the “match makers” of Seeking Arrangement interact with the sugar daddies and sugar babies, as well as how the sugar daddies and sugar babies interact with each other in an enclosed space. This will allow me to analyze who has the dominance of the space, and who changes their attitudes in order to impress the
other.
Once my research has concluded, I will have the data and understanding of how sugar daddy/ baby relationships operate, as well as whether or not sugar babies are empowered by being involved in such relationships. The data will be reported in the form of an academic paper that will be peer-reviewed. This will allow the field of Anthropology to advance its contemporary understanding on the form of complex relationships, such as sugar daddies and sugar babies. By publishing my work, other anthropologists can take what I have done and delve into new theories and ideas. The end results could also change the stigma of women who seek out wealthy men as “gold diggers” or prostitutes. Putting the research into a formal paper is the end result, and this report will benefit the field of anthropology, as well as have a societal impact on female empowerment and the issue of commodification.
needs on both sides. On an academic level, the study of sugar daddy/baby relations has been largely reduced to thinly veiled prostitution. The research done has mainly been involved with law and social issues; since prostitution is illegal, there is special attention on the money exchange that occurs in sugar daddy/baby relationships. Many feminists, myself included, feel that these types of relationships create a commodification of women rather than the wealth that is involved. Many scholars worry that seeking a sugar daddy will make the women involved dependent on a man for her meal ticket, or “trading sex for tuition”, something that the 21st century is trying to break. While the problems surrounding women being given “gifts” in exchange for sex, arm candy, and companionship are very real and damaging to the women involved, I seek to understand how the sugar babies feel empowered through having these relationships. The current feminist agenda is to explore how women are gaining self-esteem and self-worth through their careers, relationships, and social lives. The aspect of being a sugar baby as something that could be an empowerment benefit, as well as a monetary one, is a topic that has little literature. I intend to preform extensive research in order to gain understanding on why sugar babies seek out sugar daddies for their own gain. This will be done through the platform of “Seeking Arrangement” which is a popular sugar daddy/ baby relationship. The two populations that will be interviewed are separated by gender; one being the sugar daddies, and the other being the sugar babies. They are also differentiated by their status, since a main factor of the sugar daddy/baby relationship revolves around money and statues. Sugar daddies who are on Seeking Arrangement are required to pay $50.00 dollars a month a regular membership, or $1,200.00 dollars a month for a diamond membership, which includes a tax verification, since the requirement to be a sugar daddy is to have a net worth of at least 2 million dollars. The sugar babies are free to join Seeking Arrangement; the only requirement is not an official one- being young, pretty, and fun. By exploring the dynamics of the two facets of sugar daddy/baby relationships, I will be able to understand if being a sugar baby is more empowering than it is degrading.
Because this will be an in-depth research project, my timeline will be to accurately gain data from both populations in the span of one year (January 2016 to December 2016). In order to spend the time I need living in the city where I conduct my interviews, as well as travel to functions for Seeking Arrangement events, my budget for the span of research is $5,000 dollars. In order to accurately gain insight on the inner-workings of sugar daddies and sugar babies, I will conduct formal and informal interviews of local sugar babies from the popular website “Seeking Arrangement”, as well as attend parties and events that are thrown by the website. My main method of data collection will be in the form of the snowball method; I have an informant who is involved as a sugar baby, and she is able to arrange informal interviews with other sugar babies in the area. By interviewing the local sugar babies, I can establish their true feelings on the sugar daddy/ baby relationship in a relaxed setting. Since the subject matter deals with personal and sexual relationships, the interviewees with remain anonymous unless otherwise stated.
I will also use participant observation as a research method. Because Seeking Arrangement hosts so many events, I will be able to attend the functions as if I was part of the sugar daddy/ baby community. This will allow me to observe the dynamics of the relationships, as well as the space that they share together. While researching in these formal and informal spaces, I have complied a list of key questions to ask in order to get the most accurate data:
• “What made you want to sign-up to be a sugar baby on Seeking Arrangement?”
• “Have you ever felt uncomfortable when meeting a potential sugar daddy?”
• “Do you feel that being a sugar baby is something that is seen as degrading?”
• “Can you name some ways in which you have certain freedoms from having a sugar daddy?”
• “Has this experience changed your mind on marriage or female roles?”
Once I have collected this data, I plan to rewrite my field notes in a way that is themed and organized.
Since a majority of the research is done in informal settings, a lot of my notes will be in the form of handwritten observations, and these notes will be converted into digital copies. I will also have to transcribe my interview recordings from the sugar babies, as well as the recordings from the events from Seeking Arrangement that I will attend. An important aspect of understanding the space of sugar daddy/ baby relationships is using mapping to view how the different populations interact. For example, I will map out how the “match makers” of Seeking Arrangement interact with the sugar daddies and sugar babies, as well as how the sugar daddies and sugar babies interact with each other in an enclosed space. This will allow me to analyze who has the dominance of the space, and who changes their attitudes in order to impress the
other.
Once my research has concluded, I will have the data and understanding of how sugar daddy/ baby relationships operate, as well as whether or not sugar babies are empowered by being involved in such relationships. The data will be reported in the form of an academic paper that will be peer-reviewed. This will allow the field of Anthropology to advance its contemporary understanding on the form of complex relationships, such as sugar daddies and sugar babies. By publishing my work, other anthropologists can take what I have done and delve into new theories and ideas. The end results could also change the stigma of women who seek out wealthy men as “gold diggers” or prostitutes. Putting the research into a formal paper is the end result, and this report will benefit the field of anthropology, as well as have a societal impact on female empowerment and the issue of commodification.