Financial Sex Aid: Florida Co-Eds Seek "Sugar Daddy" for College Degree
MIAMI (CBS4) - People who are looking for the perfect match, both men and women, go online seeking a certain kind of arrangement.
A "sugar baby" is typically younger and eager for adventure. A "sugar daddy" is usually an older, financially established provider. A website called www.seekingarrangement.com helps the two meet.
CBS4's Jorge Estevez found a 22-year old who is looking for her first sugar daddy. She is a Miami student looking for someone to help her pay for her higher education and all the related expenses.
A self-proclaimed, cute blonde who is looking for fun in Fort Lauderdale admits to being a college student looking for some help.
And another pretty, young Miami college girl, who does not want to be identified, is more direct, asking specifically for 10 to 20-thousand dollars monthly. The 22-year old claims to be looking for someone who will never say "NO" to her needs.
"The lesson here... ask and you shall receive," she told Estevez.
"What have they given you?" asked Estevez.
"They have given me cars, trips, jewelry. These guys will take you out and they will court you," she responded.
Jorge asked "What do these guys do for you?"
"They support you financially... financially," she replied.
Support is proving to be crucial for a 20-year old sugar baby, who is in college at Florida International University.
"Have they paid your tuition?" asked Estevez.
"Yes Jorge."
"Books?" he asked.
"Books. Everything," she responded. "When I say everything... I mean everything."
In fact, her profile asks for someone to "help a young'in out". And she is not alone. Numbers compiled by the "seeking arrangement" website showed that in the past six months, FIU ranked 20th in a list of the top universities with "sugar baby" sign ups.
Florida ranked third in the U.S. behind New York and California with 67,815 total users, of all ages. There are just over 1,000,000 and growing .
Our FIU student argued that it's a way to survive the times.
"I don't get support from my parents. As soon as I turned 18, they told me I am on my own. I have to figure everything out on my own Jorge."
"And you discovered this? And you thought...?" asked Estevez.
"My dreams came true Jorge."
"Your dreams came true," he repeated.
Then his interview added, "But with every give... there is a take."
"They give you trips. They pay for school. They give you presents. What do you give them?" asked Estevez.
"Sex," said the FIU "sugar baby."
"Just like that," asked Jorge.
"Just like that," she said.
"And you are OK with that?" Jorge probed.
"I am OK with that," she replied.
But seeking arrangement, which began in 2006, insists they are not an escort service and specifies the terms of the relationship are left up to the two consenting users. Estevez spoke with the website's founder, Brandon Lee.
"Why is this not like prostitution, since you mentioned it?" asked Estevez.
"We do not allow escorts or prostitutes to use the website. That is what I call a one or two-hour arrangement. It is not what this is about," Lee said.
In fact, the website monitors profiles. They claim they shut down as many as 20-a day for alluding to inappropriate behavior.
"To make sure that terms such as hourly rate, in call, out call and terms like that aren't used, we highlight them and catch them.
We put that question on the table for our "sugar baby."
"What do you say to people who say this is a form of prostitution?" asked Estevez of our FIU student.
"That is not true," she explained. "Prostitution is when you get paid for sex and that is just it. Sex. For this, you build a relationship with someone."
It's a relationship that begins online, a common practice nowadays, where one person logs on hoping to find another who is also in search of that perfect match.
"Years from now you are successful. What do you say to you about doing this?" Jorge inquired.
"They have money they want to help you. They see you struggling, They want to help you. Whether or not it is an arrangement... it is still a relationship," the woman explained.
A match, found online, between two consenting adults looking for their own special arrangement.
So what is the ratio for these consenting adults? Well, most dating websites have more men than women. But at seekingarrangement.com, it's the opposite. The ratio is 20 sugar babies to every one sugar daddy.
Seeking Arrangement is developing a mobile app for your smart phone and the website is going global with a Spanish language version and other languages.
