It costs more and more each year to be a university student in
Ontario. Tuition consistently jumps quicker than inflation, and many
students are looking for help — but not always in the form of a loan or
bursary.
For some, help means finding a “Sugar Daddy.”
SeekingArrangement.com
promises to create connections between young people of little means —
called “Sugar Babies” — and established careerists with finances to
spare.
The Las Vegas-based site claims a membership of more than two
million, half of whom have signed up with a university or college email
address. Hundreds of Canadian students signed up last year, with Ryerson
topping the list with 183 new members.
“It’s a way to find relationships that are win-win,” said Brandon Wade, who founded the site in 2006.
“All relationships that are successful are mutually beneficial at the end of the day.”
The trade-off is this: financial help, gifts or a taste of luxury, in
exchange for companionship, romance — even physical intimacy.
Wade said he commonly hears criticism that the set-up of the site is
akin to prostitution — money for sex — but maintains it’s not unlike any
other dating website. The aim, he said, is to “empower” people with
fulfilling, mutually beneficial relationships whose terms are clear from
the beginning.
“Ultimately (some) people are going there hoping to find someone who
they are attracted to and to have physical intimacy,” he said. “To deny
that would be kind of silly.”
According to the site’s terminology, the “modern daddy” is respectful
and generous (there are “Sugar Mommies” too, but the ratio of “Mommies”
to male “Babies” on the site is 100 to one). In Canada, their average
income, as claimed on the site, is $247,757.
“Sugar Babies” are described as “students, actresses, models or girls
& guys next door,” who want to “date someone who will pamper you,
empower you, and help you mentally, emotionally and financially.”
While on vacation in Florida recently, a 23-year-old University of Toronto student jumped at the opportunity and signed up.
“I said, ‘Ohh that’s exactly what I want,’ ” recalls the student, who
goes by the name Tatiana on the website. “I just want a gentleman in my
life that knows how to treat a lady,”
Having grown up in Zambia, where she said it is considered rude for a
woman to pull out the wallet, she’s accustomed to men providing for
women, she said.
So far, she’s been in touch with two “Daddies.” The second one, who
she said is a 35-year-old investment banker from New York City, is more
to her taste. They’ve spoken on Skype and he’s planning to fly to
Toronto to visit her, she said.
When asked if there’s pressure to have sex, she said most “Daddy”
profiles she’s seen indicate they’re looking for companionship before
sex.
“They want a real relationship with you,” she said.
