Sugar Babies

On the rare occasion that the fates decide to have me watch Dr. Phil, I don't usually run to tell everyone. But, I just watched an episode about "sugar babies" and "sugar daddies" that meet at a dating site called seekingarrangement.com.

So, the defining characteristics of the relationships formed through this site are:

• Casual dating relationships, often but not always involving sex
• The men are wealthy and typically older
• The women are young and typically attractive
• The men give the women cash and/or gifts frequently. Arrangements vary considerably, although everyone is clear that there is no quid pro quo of trading money or gifts for sex.

So, is this just thinly veiled prostitution? Is it just a very typical 21st century dating arrangement with the veil lifted? Is it somewhere in between or somewhere else altogether? It's a very interesting question I'd love to see debated in another arena...