What Is Sugar Dating? All You Should Know About Sugar Relationship
Studies show that sugar dating is getting less socially stigmatized and even more socially encouraged. Still, for many people, sugar relationships are still in the gray area. Is it just a legalized form of sex work or, maybe, it’s closer to a vanilla relationship? What can be considered sugar dating and what can’t? We answer these and many other questions in this guide.
What is sugar dating?
Most researchers define it as a mutually beneficial relationship between a sugar daddy and a sugar baby or a sugar momma and a sugar baby, where one of the partners, a sugar baby, is compensated by another partner for their time.
The word time in this context is much more important than it seems. It refers to all the time a sugar baby spends with their benefactor—all the dates, communication, texting, and yes, intimacy. All the elements are equally important, and if a couple meets only for sex, they can’t be considered sugar partners. Moreover, the ability of a sugar baby to initiate a relationship, end it at any time, delay sexual intimacy or initiate it is the thing that makes sugar dating different from sex work.
Types of sugar relationships
Though all sugar relationships must meet a few main criteria (be financially compensated and mutually beneficial for both parties, never focused on sex and anything but sex), the main benefit of sugar arrangements is that they work perfectly for:
- Long-term sugar relationships. Some sugar babies and sugar daddies prefer to start a long-term relationship, meet regularly, and enjoy a relationship that’s very similar to a traditional relationship. The type of compensation is usually a monthly allowance.
- Short-term sugar relationships. A sugar daddy and a sugar baby aren’t looking for one partner for a long-term, and may have dates from time to time. Pay per meet is the most common type of payment in this case.
- Exclusive sugar relationships. A sugar baby isn’t dating any other guys or sugar daddies (a sugar daddy can still be married, but in most cases, he has only one sugar baby).
- Non-exclusive sugar relationships. Most often, it’s a short-term, less serious relationship where both partners can date other sugar daddies and sugar babies.
- Online sugar relationships. In most cases, sugar partners meet in real life, but after the pandemic, a new type of sugar relationship, where partners talk, meet, and have sex online, has emerged.
These are just the common types of mutually beneficial relationships, and each couple is free to change/improve any terms to make it work for them personally.
How to start a sugar relationship?
How to become a part of a sugar world? If you’re only starting your journey in the sugar dating world, there’s a simple yet efficient algorithm for you:
- Choose the right sugar dating website. It must meet all your most important criteria and have the right pool of potential matches for you.
- Write a good sugar dating profile. You can succeed only with a good profile, especially if you’re a sugar baby. Mention all your goals, expectations, and things that you can offer, and add your best photos to narrow the search only to the best matches.
- Communicate with potential partners, spotting the red flags. If something seems wrong to you, just move on. Scammers, Salt daddies, and Splenda daddies exist—try to spot and avoid them.
- Discuss at least the basic terms of a potential sugar arrangement online. Why waste your time on someone who has different expectations about your relationship? Learn at least some basic things, for example, if they expect a relationship to be exclusive, how much they’re going to pay/earn, if the sex must be involved, etc.
- Meet in real life only with decent potential partners. The sooner you meet, the sooner you’ll understand if there’s chemistry between you.
Also, it’s crucially important to follow the safety rules. Meet in public places and never share your personal (let alone your financial) information online.
How to succeed in a sugar relationship?
How to make sure that you do everything right and make your relationship really satisfying? Here are some essential rules and tips:
- Set your own priorities—the only way to achieve it is to know what your actual goal is.
- Let others know what exactly you’re looking for, and what’s your expectations, don’t try to hide anything from a potential partner.
- Talk openly, clearly, and directly about money.
- Follow all the terms of your sugar arrangements, whatever they are.
- Respect a partner’s privacy.
- Remember that sugar dating isn’t about love.
- Leave no room for jealousy and control.
- Enjoy your sugar relationship and end it when it stops working for you.
If all these rules seem acceptable to you, you have a good chance of finding a good partner and starting a healthy sugar relationship.
Conclusion
So, is sugar dating for you? Consider all the information provided in this guide, be completely honest with yourself, and then answer. If it does, just create your sugar profile and start looking for a sugar partner, keeping in mind the safety rules and common rules of sugar dating that all sugar babies and sugar daddies must follow.
F.A.Q.
What is the best sugar dating site?
There are pretty many good sugar sites, and each has its pros, cons, and special features. One platform may work better for one user and not work at all for another. Still, currently, there’s one of the world’s most popular platforms, Secret Benefits, which is an efficient site for tens of millions of members worldwide, and in particular, in the US.
Is sugar dating legal?
Generally speaking, yes, it is. Sugar dating can’t be considered sex work because not only sex is involved—such relationships are also about companionship. Still, it’s in the gray zone—if partners call themselves a sugar daddy and a sugar baby but meet only for sex, it may be illegal. Nevertheless, for now, there was no single case against sugar babies and sugar daddies.
What to expect from a sugar relationship?
You definitely shouldn’t expect love and deep commitment. Still, you can expect an honest relationship on mutually beneficial terms (whatever works for you) without any negative aspects of the so-called traditional relationships, like jealousy and control.
Arthur Smith has spent over 10 years working as a contributor to both online and offline psychology publications, but sugar dating has always been his special interest.
At SugarDatingReview, Arthur continues doing what he does best: giving valuable advice on how to have an effective and safe sugar dating experience, as well as telling his readers about the most trusted sugar dating websites based on his own expertise.
At SugarDatingReview, Arthur continues doing what he does best: giving valuable advice on how to have an effective and safe sugar dating experience, as well as telling his readers about the most trusted sugar dating websites based on his own expertise.
