Is this...prostitution?

So many news articles, TV features, etc. address this particular question.

I think the real problem surrounds the technologization of the 'sugar-dating' process...or, put in another way, how sugar-dating sites change the courtship process that proceeds short-term, 'mutually-beneficial' relationships.

I mean, if you think about it, a prostitute who does bar-work (i.e., propositions guys in hotel lobbies & bars) is clearly distinguishable from a hot chick who picks up wealthy men at bars & dates them for perks. In the former case, both parties come together for 'sugar' and the terms of the relationship are discussed explicitly after 15-40 minutes. In the later case, there is at least the illusion that one party or both parties are not specifically interested in a short-term intimate relationship in which money changes hands. There is quite a bit of uncertainty. And, for the most part, everything is left unsaid.

I think the internet blurs those lines alot, simply because it makes the courtship process so much less discreet.

Or, in other words...in the real world, would we be negotiating allowances or discussing intimacy-time-tables with people we had not yet met in person (or only met once or twice?) Or how would a non-prostitute react if someone approached her and said 'I think you're gorgeous & clever. If you decide to spend time with me, you'll be pampered & spoiled & feel like a princess..."


I don't think that the actual relationships formed via sugar-dating-websites necessarily differ from those formed in the real world. However, the courtship process is - without question - different.

It is direct and straightforward, characteristics which have, in the past, been reserved for prostitutes & johns, & people in conservative religious communities setting up arranged marriages.