So despite societal beliefs that I was immoral for entering a business agreement with a married man that involved physical intimacy, I agreed to this “arrangement”. However, it would not last longer than two months as I had trouble navigating it because it required more emotional labor than physical. This is what I would learn is what many would call “sugaring”- a form of sex work that functions as an emotional relationship that often requires physical intimacy as well. The internet, specifically in today’s time, would have many believing that “sugar daddies” do not require sex. This is a dangerous fallacy as it often lures young women into engaging into relationships with rich men and feeling pressured to perform work they do not want to do.
Sugaring has been defined as mutually beneficial arrangements where “financial, professional, or other forms of support” are exchanged for “intimacy, companionship, or other forms of attention” (Gunnarsson & Strid, 2021). Researchers are starting to uncover that “sugaring” is just a term that covers up the criminalization of sex work (Gunnarsson & Strid, 2021). “Sugaring” often entails activities other than sex, such as going for dinners, and is thought of as a more personal relationship. “Sugar daddies” or clients who seek sugaring services are often looking for mutual feelings (or the appearance of mutual feelings), paying with “gifts” rather than money, flexibility with time rather than set times, and an experience that looks more like having a girlfriend rather than hiring a sex worker (Gunnarsson & Strid, 2021). Sex workers who end up “sugaring” often do not consider themselves “sex workers” and enter the world of “sugaring” thinking of it as more of an opportunity that was presented to them rather than a deliberate decision (Scull, 2022). I would argue that while the differences from “sugaring” and “full service” are not very or if at all different, the distinctions are due to women hoping to remove themselves from the criminalization and stigma of full service sex work.