There might not be another type of woman more hated in the world than a sugar baby. She’s right up there next to people like Madonna and grossly wealthy W.A.S.P.s (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) with legacy attached. ‘Feminists’ despair, saying she’s oppressing herself, and parents pray their daughter never dabbles in the Sugar Bowl - lest she become a dumb, bimbo blonde overnight. Maybe that was the situation a few decades ago, but today? Today, feminists should rejoice and parents should put their fears at ease because there is nothing more empowering than the modern sugar baby - they are some of the youngest, most successful business women out there. I’m not saying that there isn’t at least one dumb-blonde-sugar-baby somewhere, but if she manages her personal life along with a side life that happens to reward her with thousands of dollars every month, maybe she’s not quite that stupid. Before anyone dives into any sort of business venture one must first ask: ‘What do I want? And what do I have to offer?’. In the modern age, sugar babies, or ‘SBs’, provide intellectual conversation, companionship, and fun, while their counterparts, sugar daddies, or ‘SDs’, provide advice, mentorship, and financial benefits. Many people often exclaim ‘he’s exploiting her!’ or ‘she’s exploiting him!’. Or perhaps they feel as if their morals personally compel them to stop such activity. However, in a country where consenting adults are allowed to form their own relationships, something like this should be just as acceptable as a consensual agreement to get married, live together, or even something as simple as dating. A sugar baby isn’t a transaction - she’s in charge of a business relationship, and a lot of work has to be put into one such as:

Preparation: Before any meeting with an interviewer, business person, or sugar daddy, the sugar baby has to be thoroughly educated and prepared. The world of SD-SB relationships has existed in human civilization as long as money has. With a wealth of information about the lifestyle online and in books, a sugar baby must do adequate research to keep herself happy and safe. A majority of sugar babies find their sugar daddies online at specific websites such as seekingarrangement.com. Before meeting with an SD in person, a SB must first run background checks and research who their SD is (if possible), then prep themselves on any mutual interests she shares with a SD, and finally make arrangements to meet up in a safe and public place. First Impressions: The first impression is crucial in a SD-SB system. The best sugar babies are the ones that exude confidence. They are the ones that understand their own worth and let others know it. On the other hand, they are also able to read what a potential SD is looking for, and adjust their ‘image’ to that. The sugar baby is a devoted fan of Adam Smith. She understands that there is an overabundance of good looking people in the world - but what makes her different (thus increasing her ‘desirability’) is that she is intelligent, interesting, and can hold her own against other people. The image a sugar baby first puts out to the world is crucial for incurring respect, which keeps her from getting exploited. Ultimately the sugar baby and the sugar daddy should be equals in a healthy sugar relationship. Negotiation: The sugar baby is a master negotiator. The key to a successful arrangement is knowing exactly what one wants and what one can offer - and then suggesting in it in a respectful manner. This negotiation is also known as a ‘allowance conversation’ (an ‘allowance’ is the amount of money the SD gives the SB for her time). In any business, whoever can get the most out of a deal wins, and the same applies to SD-SB relationships. Important topics covered during negotiation include but are not limited to: -Level of secrecy during the relationship -Hours per week would he like to go on dates -Allowance value -Monthly vs. weekly allowance -Platonic vs. Sexual vs. Romantic relationships -Long term goals vs. short term goals -Monogamous vs. Open relationships -Preferred method of communication -Preferred method of receiving money It’s essential to stress clear communication during negotiation because the last thing a sugar baby needs is misunderstanding. Ethics: It is important for a sugar baby to know what she wants from the other party, but it is even more important that she understand what she wants from herself - and sticks to it. A significant criticism against sugaring is that women are degraded by that type of lifestyle. However, if a woman consciously consents to a certain lifestyle and finds pleasure in doing so, she can only be empowered, not oppressed. Unlike the business world, there are no set laws regarding sugaring. Still it is critical for a SB to have her own personal moral code. Her values could be as simple as ‘platonic relationships only’ or a complex system that only gets her involved with ex-married men. This keeps her in control of her situation, never beholden to the money or her greed, because she is either okay with what is happening, or she is not. There is no slippery slope for her to fall from confidence and consent to exploitation and degradation. Further Investments: A sugar baby has many options with her ‘allowance’. Almost all SBs receive lavish gifts, including designer clothes and handbags, from their SD - this buys them respect in the world because the way they dress and the way they hold themselves can be just as important as social or economic standing. Some sugar babies take the spare money they have and put it in the stock market or real estate. Many sugar babies are college or graduate students and use their allowance to further their education and increase their chances for success. Others are single working mothers, and put every bit of their extra money into creating a good environment for her child to grow up into.

Perhaps we should look into why, despite everything outlined above, a large portion of society still thinks of sugar babies as air-headed tramps. A woman that hangs out with some of the world’s most powerful men? A woman that owns her sexuality and uses it to her advantage? A woman who knows what she wants, and gets it? Yikes. Sounds dangerous, better play her off as an idiot instead. It seems that the problem is not within the sugar babies, but rather in an irrational fear of powerful women. A fear of women as CEOs, women as entrepreneurs, and women as...sugar babies.