With a $2800 LV schoolbag and a $4000 Herm è s watch, Vivian (alias), an Oakland Chinese girl, lives alone in a luxury two-bedroom apartment downtown.
While many of her classmates are studying part-time, she not only doesn`t have to pay rent, but also has several thousand dollars a month to pay for tuition and other luxury expenses.
20-year-old Vivian from China, she has three "godfathers", they are her source of income.
"dry father" in western society is called "sugar daddy" (sugar father), usually older men pay for "keep" young girls ("sugar baby, sugar baby"), corresponding to "sugar mommy" (sugar mother). Their relationships include sexual relationships and some are limited to dating; some are single and more people have families and children.
In recent years, various websites, such as app, which helped to establish the keep relationship, have been criticized by western media. However, many overseas students, in the luxury of life and "food and clothing," under the temptation, or on this "no-return road."
01
Open-ended relationships?
As an international student, Vivian found the "sugar daddy" through a variety of websites, including the "notorious" The SugarBook,SeekingArrangement in Western society.
SeekingArrangement
"I`ve had about eight relationships around here," Vivian said. I think it`s more like an open-ended relationship. "
Yes, this brain circuit is pretty clean.
Of the three "sugar dads", the youngest is a 40-year-old Hong Kong businessman, the oldest is a Malaysian at 66, and the third is from TW.
Vivian says all three men know each other and have families, but she doesn`t know if they`re divorced-she doesn`t ask questions, but they ask more.
Hong Kong`s sugar father often travels to Oakland, and the other two pay for business class flights to find them at various resorts.
Vivian said they had sex when they met, but she didn`t think it was the only reason sugar dad came to her.
"We`re in love. Sex is just a normal part of the relationship, isn`t it?"
"they helped me because they wanted to help, and it made them happy, not for sex."
Vivian learned about it by a friend who did the same thing as "sugar baby."
"when I first came to New Zealand, I was jealous that my friends were all brand names."
"I looked for part-time jobs and worked in massage parlours, but I didn`t earn enough money to buy luxury goods."
Sugar Dad is generous in giving her gifts, including Xiaomi`s Mi 8 (it`s not really Xiaomi`s ad-implanted.), MacBook Pro laptop, etc.).
More and more young students are starting to work and study like Vivian, but rely on "sugar daddy" to support extravagant lives.
Edwina Pio, a professor at Oakland University of Technology, said: "more and more students choose to be `sugar baby`, which is related to luxury lifestyles, high college fees and fewer scholarships."
SeekingArrangements claims to have more than 50000 registered members in New Zealand. Ads on the site say it can help students "fix student loans." In New Zealand, where student loans amount to $15.9 billion, figures show that more and more college students cannot afford to pay their bills, even if their living allowance rises.
Poverty or greed?
Professor Paul Spoonley, Vice President of the University of Messi, said: "College tuition makes part-time and half-time a common option. I believe that many students work part-time in the grey areas, it is difficult to be monitored, and it is very difficult to collect taxes. "
As long as you reach the age of 18, you can register for email addresses and photos. The cost of joining such websites ranges from $60 to $250. If you register at a university email address, you will receive benefits such as a discount or a free upgrade.
02
Is there really going to be a candy pie in the sky?
Looking for Sugar baby, means companionship, affection and young flesh for sugar daddy and sugar mom; for young people, it only means money.
Almost all websites say: "sexual relations are not mandatory." Compared to one night stand or long-term sexual relationships, many students believe that they can earn fast money by simply chatting with company or short-term dating.
Emily, 23, thought the same thing.
I said, `well, let`s go out, ah, wait, I don`t have the right dress. Then let them buy me a dress, or give me money. Then I`ll go on a date with them, and I`ll never see them again after the date. "
But soon, she realized that things were not that simple.
"it`s hard to describe this feeling, but you have to materialize yourself in order for others to condescend to you." She said most of the sugar dads she met were reluctant to spend money easily.
Fiona, 21, is a master`s degree at Cambridge University. After registering with Seeking Arrangement, she spent a lot of time refining her profile because "I really need money."
"I spent a lot of time introducing my elite college, a website that attracts people who like students. I don`t think anything, but it`s just a game. "
Like Emily, she soon found the problem.
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"I find it hard to find the kind of man described on the site, who just wants to date and gives money. After a while on the site, we`ll add WhatsApp, to each other, and then they`ll ask me for nude photos. I would say, it makes me uncomfortable, and then, no more. "
"I registered on the website for six months and didn`t get a penny."
Not surprisingly, when "sugar baby" but does not accept sexual relations, it is difficult to achieve the status described on the Seeking Arrangement website, "an average of $2580 a month in revenue".
So, how does this $2580 work out? Brandon Wade, the founder of Seeking Arrangement, says the purpose of SA is to help students pay for tuition: "according to data from a survey of members, Many students used to have to drop out of school because of the cost. Now they can all go back to school. "
So。 This is actually a charity to help out-of-school teenagers?
That`s what a spokesman for Seeking Arrangement said:
"We`re a dating site, and we don`t want to target any group. Students like to use the site, mainly because they want to date anyway and want to improve the quality of life. If someone doesn`t like `sugar daddy`, it`s easy. Don`t register. "
Emily has deleted her account, but she hasn`t given up looking for sugar daddy. She began to turn her eyes to luxury nightclubs.
"I`m a foodie, and I can go to an upscale restaurant for $500 now." She`s also officially in love with a sugar dad, but he`s an office worker, not a rich man decades older than her. "he`s dating me not because he`s rich, but because he loves me," Emily said.
So, how many times a month can a lonely rich person eat a meal, and you can get a sizeable income?
The brain is really a good thing.
03
Security risks and visa risks are high
Jazz Catherine Healy, founder of the New Zealand Sex Workers Association, believes that sugar baby`s relationship is no different from prostitution`s, because there are few "sugar dads" who only want company.
Catherine Healy, a former sex worker, was decorated this year by the Queen.
"clearly, this is a commercial relationship. Take the money and the sex, and the relationship disappears. "
Since it`s a commercial relationship, finding a sugar daddy is just as safe as working for sex; for foreign students, there`s a visa problem.
The problem with "sugar baby" over sex workers, says Healy, is that they don`t feel like they`re working on sex.
"they may be naive, they don`t feel like they`re working for sex, and they don`t know enough about the risks."
But in New Zealand, where sex industries are legal, only New Zealand citizen or residents are allowed to become sex workers. It is illegal to hold a student visa for sexual work.
The New Zealand Immigration Service said the sugar baby could also be seen as a sex job.
"sex in exchange for tuition, accommodation and gifts will be considered to be the provision of a business sexual service. Doing such a thing with a student visa could face repatriation. "
Professor Paul Spoonley, vice president of the University of Messi, said college students should be "lively and creative," and he very little recommended that they become "sugar baby".
"this puts your studies and visas in New Zealand at risk, as well as your personal risks, especially if the relationship is illegal and not protected by the law."
Last year, 136 people were directly repatriated on suspicion of illegal prostitution, and 312 were repatriated when they entered the country on suspicion of prostitution, according to data released by the New Zealand Immigration Service.
"Sugar Dad sugar baby" can not hide the essence of physical money trading, clean oneself, be careful to join the club!
