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Having multiple jobs is not uncommon for millennials. Some people walk dogs, others buy and resell vintage clothes and some exchange their time for an emotional and sometimes physical relationship with older, wealthy men. The people who pursue this line of work as usually college-aged people and are commonly known as sugar babies.

Becoming a sugar baby presents a unique opportunity for women pursuing financial security and should be considered a viable career option because it gives them complete control over a financial, emotional and sometimes a physical relationship. Normalizing this behavior can only benefit future generations as women become more autonomous and use these opportunities to benefit themselves and the world around them. 

While it is generally a young woman’s game, men are also known to seek out and benefit from these opportunities.

The relationship between a sugar baby and their sugar daddy can take on many different facets. They sometimes include physical aspects. However, the relationships are usually based largely on emotional intimacy and companionship.

Becoming a sugar baby presents a unique opportunity for women pursuing financial security and should be considered a viable career option

In his article, Stanfield claims that while being a sugar baby is a decent prospect while you are young, it is implausible to consider it as a career option because it is established mainly on the pretense of physical attraction. This might have been an issue some time ago, but forms of plastic surgery and makeup techniques can make someone who is 40 look 20. 

It is also possible that a sugar baby makes enough money that they do not necessarily have to pursue a secondary career. Even if they are being paid an allowance, daddies are known to give gifts in the form of student loan payments and free meals. This allows sugar babies to better establish their financial independence at an early age and possibly retire younger than most.

Due to an increasing reliance on technology, the ability to be financially independent and control their bodily autonomy is an attractive offer. The prospects for sugar babies are likely to only increase. In the United States, the number of older men aged 65+ living alone is projected to rise by 65% between now and 2030 from 911,000 to 1.5 million.

Whether the relationship is mainly emotional or physical, it is possible they could foster a sense of entitlement over women’s time and emotional investment. I do not consider this a real issue as women are the ones setting the terms of the arrangement and have the complete power to shut down this sort of behavior.

These relationships could be used against women as a means of demeaning their romantic freedom; a well-known anti-women group referred to as “incels,” short for involuntary celibates, may be able to exploit this relationship structure to prove that women are shallow beings who only spend their time with men who can afford their attention despite obvious character flaws.

However, it is also possible that an incel could benefit from a pseudo-romantic or emotional connection.

Potential connections should establish the exact nature of the relationship before any transactions occur. One sugar baby stated that she has “turned down thousands of dollars to hold my ground of no sex. The key is to have them work for you, not for you to work for them. You’re the boss.”

Sugar babies should be wary of scams, but established websites like SeekingArrangement.com make it easy to find the right opportunity.

With this website, daddies can become verified which means they are subject to background checks and their income is verified. As with any profession, mastering it takes time but the annual summit in Los Angeles is another indicator of the increasing legitimacy of this industry.

While the profession does come with many risks, the rewards are not only better for the person but arguably society since the financial independence allows them to pursue other activities. Many enter the sugar baby world as young women wanting to establish themselves, and if there is a demand that they can fill just by spending time with someone, the benefits usually outweigh the risks while giving women the ability to be an autonomous being.

Madison Thompson can be reached at letters@collegian.com or at @heyymadison