Family, Self

Does A Sugar Daddy Paying Off College Debt Count As Prostitution?

money bills

Students up to their eyeballs in college loans in this weak economy will do pretty much anything for extra dough, whether that means waitressing till 4 a.m. in a smelly, crowded bar… or having relations with an older, wealthy man they met online. 

Yes, according to HuffPost Women, there's an alarming number of young, strapped-for-cash college girls who are joining "arrangement seeking" websites such as SeekingArrangement.com, SeekingTuition.com, and SugarDaddyMeet.com in order to find "Sugar Daddies" who will pay off their debt in exchange for some sexy time, whatever that may be. Brandon Wade, the founder of Seeking Arrangement, tells HuffPost Women that he's seen a 350 percent increase of college-age students joining his site within the past five years alone. Huffington Post: Arianna Huffington Talks 'Sugar Babies' On The Today Show

What's worrisome is that many of these young women, or "Sugar Babies," don't view what they're doing—exchanging themselves for money—as prostitution. Rather, they see it as a desperate, short-term, "hang out with a rich old dude for the night" means to an end. And since advertising online for a "Sugar" anything is legal as long as there's no explicit exchange detailed, it's a very gray area.

Then again, it seems the majority of users signing up for these sites know exactly what they're getting themselves into, and what they'll be getting in return (this isn't Match.com, folks). So how is that any different from, say, driving down a certain road at a certain time of night because you know what you'll find on the corner?

Do you think "Sugar Daddy" and "Sugar Baby" relationships are a form of prostitution? Or are they just a way for two people to get what they want?