Understanding Sugaring, the World of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies: Participants perceived sugar dating to be drama-free, casual, mutually beneficial and different from conventional romantic relationships

Sugaring: Understanding the World of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies. Srushti Upadhyay. The Journal of Sex Research, Jan 12 2021. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2020.1867700

Abstract: A growing practice reflecting hookup culture and technological entrepreneurship, a “sugar arrangement” is a “beneficial relationship” between a “sugar baby” and a “sugar daddy”. In exchange for financial support, a sugar baby offers dating and companionship. In this study, I explored sugar culture in the United States: the reasons individuals are attracted to it and the benefits sugaring provides for them. I examined 90 sugar baby profiles and 108 sugar daddy profiles on SeekingArrangement.com; I also studied discussion forums and responses on LetsTalkSugar.com. Participants perceived sugar dating to be drama-free, casual, mutually beneficial and different from conventional romantic relationships. Sugaring provides a discrete, short- or long-term arrangement for individuals who attempt to avoid the stigma associated with commercial sex workers. A key finding was that both sugar babies and sugar daddies described techniques to mentally and emotionally distance themselves from being associated with the sex industry.

Using Dutch registry and U.S. survey data, we show that couples with daughters face higher risks of divorce, but only when daughters are 13 to 18 years old

Daughters and Divorce. Jan Kabátek, David C Ribar. The Economic Journal, ueaa140, December 30 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueaa140

Abstract: Are couples with daughters more likely to divorce than couples with sons? Using Dutch registry and U.S. survey data, we show that couples with daughters face higher risks of divorce, but only when daughters are 13 to 18 years old. These age-specific results run counter to explanations involving overarching, time-invariant preferences for sons and sex-selection into live birth. We propose another explanation that involves relationship strains in families with teenage daughters. In subsample analyses, we find larger child-gender differences in divorce risks for parents whose attitudes towards gender-roles are likely to differ from those of their daughters and partners. We also find survey evidence of relationship strains in families with teenage daughters.

JEL J12 - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic AbuseJ13 - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; YouthJ16 - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination