INTRODUCTION
The global world in which we all reside is predominantly governed by capitalist ideologies. Those ideological constructs are the thrust behind globalization, in that globalization speaks to the political, economical and social integration of the world economies. Due to globalization, the furthest geographic locality from one nation is brought into close proximity to another by way of electronic media. One of the introductions of this phenomenon is cultural pluralism. Where, social facts from one locality are easily transferred and-or learned by distant regions in the world by way of media communication. Due to this phenomenon, we are made cognizant of the different social facts that are and have been studied across the world and their various findings. It is therefore ironic that within the Jamaican academics, no one has studied the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon. The ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon evolved in the early 1980s and has continued over twenty (20) years without been noticed by any Jamaican researchers.
Since ‘sugar daddyism’ is a social fact, should the matter be studied by social scientists? Sociology is a social science and is concerned with the study of social/societal facts. Many social scientists, in particular sociologists, have extensively studied various social issues such as class conflict , race , and social solidarity . Unlike the ‘sugar daddyism’, race, class conflict and social solidarity were developed and studied by Europeans and-or American sociologists as those issues were present within their societies, so what about ‘sugar daddy’.
The emergence of Reggae as a popular music form was developed by poor inner-city people within Jamaica. This art form evolved from different art forms for example ska, rock steady and African rhythms. Because many people within the inner-cities were unemployed and faced with various oppressive social settings (like no running water; no indoor sanitary convenience; sewage running past their door steps, residing in dilapidated dwellings to name a few causes), they would group themselves together to vent their dissatisfaction, disgust and disapproval of their surroundings through lyrics in rhymes. The lyrics were coined using African instruments and would encapsulate and explain the social facts of poor people within the ghettos in Jamaica. Reggae was and still is a social culture. This art form evolved with a new set of jargons and lifestyle. In that, Reggae was the life experiences of poor inner city people.
Reggae continued over the years and was popularized by Jacob “Killa” Miller, Jimmy Cliff and the late Robert “Bob” Marley. This art form has become the rich cultural history of the Afro-Jamaican diaspora. The evolution of ‘dance hall’ was similar to the beginning of Reggae. The ‘dance hall’ is a new social phenomenon that once again was synonymous with poor inner city people within Jamaica. This art form is not just art but a social commentary of the social experiences of under privilege people. It is their vehicle of expression, and their mode of advancement from “nothingness”.
Class and class struggle are at play in the dance hall. Initially, because affluent older upper class men were totally cognizant of the poverty faced by inner city young females, they would used their finances and prestige in society to lure young and poor underprivileged females to perform sexual favours. The haves and have nots are once again interfacing with each other but through a non-conflictory way even though it is still oppressive.
Due to the fact that the dance hall is a social culture, it is used to parade a perceived lifestyle of greatness in wares and look; privileged upper class men have used this to their advantage. They paraded their ‘preys’ in luxurious vehicles, clothing and expensive hairstyles for the occasions. That experience is pervasive in the dance hall, and is an explanation of a particular social fact in the inner-city. The behaviour has now become a model for other young women to follow within innercity communities. So after a time more and increasing more young women were becoming involved in this lifestyle. Because the rewards were oftentimes immediate, the recipients would boast on their friends, by introducing them to their experiences and how they can become beneficiaries of such material possessions.
Unlike Reggae, the dance hall is once again a social commentary of the social experience of poor innercity people in Jamaica. It is within the epistemology of the dance hall that ‘sugar daddyism’ was coined and used to explain a particular social fact. Because human conduct is totally shaped by common norms, when dance hall artistes capture the essence of a particular phenomenon like that of ‘sugar daddy’ it was a norm and a social fact in inner-city people’s experience. Again, the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon began an oppressive agency used by middle/upper class older males to prey on young and poor inner-city females. Although the young underprivileged females would in return receive material possessions for their offering, the older males oftentimes would explore various sexual encounters with these younger females that they could or would not ask their counterparts at home.
Even after a decade, when the phenomenon was first expounded by the dance hall, the ‘sugar daddy’ construct has not changed but we realize the phenomenon has taken on other intriguing dimensions. Privileged middle/upper class males are still involved with underprivileged young females, and it appears as though the matter will continue into the unforeseeable future. As such the questions arise, as to whether it is deviance that explains the non-conformity of poor young females from the moral code of conduct that they learnt in their earlier years? Or is it that, the financial crisis that gave rise to Reggae and Dance Hall has equally given rise to the evolution of ‘sugar daddyism’? Or, what are the socio-cultural factors that explain the continuance of the ‘sugar daddyism’? The answers to those questions will provide a needed materialist foundation for this phenomenon.
Today, an intriguing twist to the initial phenomenon lies in the fact that the practice is no longer confined only an innercity social setting but is now being indulged in by middle and upper class young women. The initial social culture of the phenomenon as it relates to middle/upper class elder males financing younger innercity females’ life styles in exchange for sexual gratification is gradually changing form. In that, many middle and upper class young females because of economic hardship coupled with the difficult in keeping up to the initial life style that they portrayed to friends initially have sought to indulge in the practice so as to maintain a particular social image. The practice is so widespread that it spans professional, un-professional and all social strata of the Jamaican society – lower, middle and upper class young females. Furher, many young professional females be it middle or upper class are using the ‘sugar daddies’ to pay tuition fees, monthly rental for apartments, pay for latest trends in clothing along with supporting the fancy hairstyle and not to forget the lavish automobile that they sport.
Further, the ‘sugar daddies’ are now selecting young professional females who are able to converse with style and integrate effectively in their function while at social gatherings. In that, young tertiary women because of their training are able to function in high social circles to which some ‘sugar daddies’ prefer to the innercity young females. As such, the functions of the some females within the equation of the practice have changed from that of only providing sexual gratifications to that of being more like an equal partner.
One of the ironies of the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon lies in the fact that the issue has never been studied by any academics in the social sciences, even though the issue is a social fact comparable to that of the race issue studied by William B. Du Bois in regards the Philadelphian Negros. As such, the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon must be studied as it would provide an explanation of a social fact. As social scientists, knowing that the matter has never been explored from an academic perspective, we believe that this social phenomenon can no longer go unnoticed.
The cultural epistemology of the Jamaican diaspora as it relates to sexuality is fascinating, opened secrecy and charge with emotions, when one begins to question what it is. Males are given the role as provider, leader, and influencer of ideological bases. This societal norm is not new to the Jamaican landscape, as this practice has been brought over from slavery. During slavery, the roles of males were to labour, provide assistance to the family and impregnate females. Thus, the ‘sugar daddyism’ when it was first brought to the forefront of the psychic of the people of this country through the airwaves, was viewed as most disgusting, highly distasteful and sinful. Even though, it was the experience and practice of countless people across the geographical landscape of Jamaica, the issue was not analytically debated but blame was laid at the feet of the songwriters who were writing our cultural history.
The irony of the ‘sugar daddyism’ phenomenon lies in the actual practice and the public discussions. In that, while the matter is public knowledge, when reggae artistes Michigan and Smiley (in the 1980s) penned “see Boops dey, gwaan go nyam him out” the public outcry was unbelievable. In that, some people believe that although the issue was true, the matter should not have been brought to the public’s attention at that time. To date, the matter is still unresolved and up for discussions.
The issue of females being dependent on males for financial support was established by a past colonial system that has been embedded in the culture of the peoples of Jamaica. Then, why is ‘sugar daddyism’ decried as it has been over the years?
Despite the ‘ideational’ of many femininist advocates, the cultural and unconscious dependence of females on males will not cease because of a few years of education. Even though, the number and frequency of that experience has been falling, because of male domination of the world’s financial resource, men will continue to lure women with their clout. As such, women have improvised and have devised many mechanisms as life supporting skills to lure men. Hence, the emergence of the ‘sugar daddyism’ cannot be seen as new but the popularization of this matter was furthered by reggae artistes. Is this practice just a man financing a female? No!
The dance hall arena has been a vehicle for the highlighting of many past unspoken and sacred norms within our society. Although, the medium has been vehemently criticized by individuals who were educated by the post-colonial system, the practice of ‘sugar daddyism’ is widely upheld by many individuals who decry reggae for the breakdown of the moral fiber of the Jamaican society. What a fascinated response to double standards?
On the other hand, the irony of the ‘sugar daddyism’ is rather unique in that although the issue is embedded within the Jamaican diaspora, the matter has not being widely and-or directly studied. Why? Therefore, because the economic position of many females according to STATIN Report 2002 has worsened with female unemployment having significantly increased, this group of academic believes that the issue must be studied from an academic perspective with immediacy. Our concerns go far beyond the hysteria or a moral position. Is the matter only as a result of financial support? Or is it sexuality, to which we hold sacred?
The analyses that follow in this research do not in any way suggest that rural/urban Jamaica can be used as a basis on which to generalize about the Caribbean experience. As the social structure, social history and demographic patterns of Jamaica are different in significant ways from that of the other Caribbean territories. Further, the capital of Jamaica, Kingston, and by extension St. Andrew is itself very different from the many rural and peasant communities that make up the population of Jamaica. As such, generalization about this research’s findings cannot extend to Jamaica as data were collected from people residing in Kingston and St. Andrew.
The data used to support the analysis which follows were collected in the months of October and November, 2003, by means of two (2) panels of focus groups, and unstructured interviews. The respondents include thirty (30) persons broken down as follows:
Table 1.1
Panel discussion – Females 3
Males 3
Semi-formal interviews – Females 3
Males 4
Unstructured interviews – Females 10
Males 10
33
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RATIONALE and OBJECTIVE
Rationale
This group of academics is purporting that the issue goes beyond finances; as such we will seek to prove that there are other underlining factors that enhance this practice. Owing to the fact that the phenomenon formulates a cultural underpinning of the diasporas, by this research we will explain a part of our history. As such, as qualitative researchers, we wholeheartedly intend to capture the essence of this phenomenon and to explain some of the socio-cultural factors that surround its continuance.
Objective
Main Objective
To assess the impact of the socio-cultural factors on the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon as it relates to urban Kingston and St. Andrew populace.
LITERATURE REVIEW
An article entitled “Searching for Regeneration”, states that older men dating younger women have always been a norm in society. It usually expected that in a relationship the man should be several years older than his female partner. This norm becomes somewhat deviant when these years cross into generations and men who qualify to be called grandpa date girls who qualify to be their grand-daughters! The sugar daddy phenomenon brings about the question for many of whether it is better to follow the head or to follow the heart (http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002).
Relationships are not solely based on physical and emotional attraction, as society shows us continuously that factors such as money and power are both strong aphrodisiacs and crucial practical considerations, depending on of course the standard of living you would like to maintain. For both the Sugar Daddy and the young girl involved. These relationships offer certain elements beneficial for both, not necessarily including strong physical or emotional attraction, for them it is a means of attaining, what they might consider to be, “important necessities”, which may be otherwise unattainable.
We shall therefore explore the reasons that have been found for individuals entering into these kinds of relationships, which appear to deviate from societal norms. It can be noted, however, that the Sugar Daddy phenomenon is slowly becoming a norm in some societies, Jamaica being no exception. The reasons offered will also be supported by certain theories and perspectives in an attempt to explain the prevalent existence of and participation in these relationships.
“Dancehall Queen, as the filmmakers unabashedly announced, is undiluted, rough and raucous Jamaican culture served up without shame” (Kirkland, Bruce, Toronto Sun). This very popular Jamaican movie has a plot including a woman who has to uses what she’s got, to get just what she wants (Kirkland, Bruce, Toronto Sun). Marcia is a street vendor and a single mother of two daughters struggling to give her family a better life. Poverty stricken, she is forced to rely on her sugar daddy to feed her family and put her daughters through school. In this movie, Marcia eventually becomes appalled with her lifestyle and tries to find alternative means of providing for her family. This movie reflects the phenomenon where many young females have become dependent on older males who are able to an improved lifestyle for them. For Marcia, an urge for independence and improvement in her lifestyle eventually pushes her out the relationship with her sugar daddy. This, however, is not necessarily the outcome and it is usually this same need for independence and improvement in lifestyle that initially pushes young women into these relationships.
What then are the reasons behind these sexual “father-daughter” relationships? What is in it for either party? Young women have become so pragmatic and hardened by the love of money, it seems, they are willing to go any lengths to gain the extravagant lifestyle they crave. While some women may go the crude and easy way of prostitution, others prefer to gloss their dirt with varnish and hunt for old men with large bank accounts. They would much rather have the security offered by an older, although less handsome and interesting, man. Older men in these situations have been likened to vampires who feed off the blood of people to keep themselves young. In the article “Searching for Regeneration?” (www.thisdayonline.com), Kola, a public relations officer comments that “These men need the lifeblood of young girls to ward off old age and pretend they are young and virile “. There is, more than likely, in these relationships a lack of emotional attachment, as both parties are looking for different things in the relationship. The man yearning for his youth begins a relationship with a younger woman, who in addition provides for some of his sexual desires. Rich men also like status symbols and a young new girlfriend is another evidence of their wealth, someone to show off in society. The young woman looking for comfort finds it in this older man who is willing to do many things to keep her comfortable. These men are also viewed as wiser and more mature and therefore more likely to offer security and stability rather a younger man, yet to discover his life’s path. Some of these young women, may even really love their sugar daddy, due to some longing for a father-daughter relationship, which they never experienced, it is a means of getting this fatherly love.
In Africa, according to the study “Africa: The ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon” (Irin Plus News), the topic of HIV and the suggestion that young women may be more vulnerable to infection generated a heated discussion about young girls’ thoughts on the sugar daddy phenomenon. A seventeen year old stated that “Girls my age are doing it, for sure. It’s not a big deal anymore. I know it’s not a good idea, but if you’re getting everything you want from him, you don’t think about other things”. The girls who contributed to this discussion were somewhat reluctant to talk about their experiences but all admitted to knowing someone who was involved with an older man.
Sexual relationships between older men and teenage girls play a significant role in the high HIV infection rate among young women in Africa, but for both parties involves in these relationships, the risk of HIV is anything but a priority. The population Services International Kenya research manager, Margaret Waithaka, commented that the cross-generational relationship phenomenon, a.k.a. the Sugar Daddy phenomena, is not limited to South Africa. It is something that people are very private about and therefore may be hard to quantify, but it is indeed very high. The study aimed at finding out these young girls’ perceptions on the likelihood of them contracting HIV, found that most underestimate the risk of sexually transmitted infections that they may be vulnerable to in these relationships. For them, the biggest risk was discovery and possible subsequent violence from partners’ wives, followed by violence from disapproving parents and same-age boyfriends. The study also found that pregnancy and emotional abandonment by older men and the girls’ family members were also some additional fears. The fear of STD’s was assessed as lowest of all, as they assumed the men were faithful to them and their wives. For the older men, the biggest threat was the discovery of the affair by their wives and the subsequent breakdown of the family. Most of the girls admitted that they rarely wore condoms, as they would rather give in to their partner’s insistence on not wearing condoms than lose the benefits of these relationships (Africa: The ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon).
A volunteer counsellor for the Family Life Centre attributes the sugar daddy phenomenon to an increasingly materialistic society. The benefits to entering these relationships, as pointed out earlier, are revealed in this study. Schoolgirls see older wealthier men as an avenue where they will be able to attain material goods. In these relationships, the girls get clothes, school fees and gifts in return for a sexual relationship. ”Of course the guys always have to have money, otherwise there’s no point. My friend got a nice Nokia 8310 [cellular phone] for her birthday” said one of the young women in the study. She along with the rest of girls agreed that saying no to an older man bearing gifts is a difficult choice to make.( Africa: The ‘sugar daddy” phenomenon).
Contrary to common perception, these girls are not necessarily poor and the concept of the sugar daddy came form a middle class setting. Regional gender advisor for the international NGO, OXFAM suggests that most of these girls are just looking for affirmation, someone to build their self esteem. But for many poor girls this may be the only way to support themselves and their families. These girls may be just looking for the bare essentials to ensure their survival. Family pressure is also a factor compelling these girls to engage in these relationships (Africa: the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon).
The final point stated in this study is that the young women actively seek partners who are willing to spend money and will often initiate relationships with older men. They discovered that the young women in this study, plan how they would get these men. They put themselves in a position where they are more likely to this kind of man. They, therefore, don’t see themselves as victims and the researchers agreed with this, although not painting them as villains either. It is actually the sugar daddy who is in a better position, and is therefore able to entice the young girl. In some ways these relationships can be classified as exploitation on the part of the sugar daddy, and the girls can not therefore be labelled as instigators (Africa: the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon).
In another study about the sugar daddy trap and peer pressure pushing girls into sex carried out by the University of Sussex and Africa University, the researchers look at the sugar daddy phenomenon in schools. Their aim was to discover the role of the peer group culture in encouraging abuse and how the school can help to change attitudes and behaviour. Girls from a co-educational junior secondary school and an all-girls secondary school were used in this research. The study looked at the propositioning of girls by male pupils, teachers inside the school and sugar daddies outside the school, but for the purpose of our study we will focus on the older males.
It was found that there is a culture within the schools that encourage males and females to conform to certain stereotypical behaviours, which make girls particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Quite simply in the schools, boys want sex and girls want money. Money is seen by these girls as a necessity for basic survival and comfort. They need basic items for attendance such as uniform, books and money for school fees and bus fares, as well a pocket money. Pupils who can afford to buy food and drink from the school tuck shop are admired and envied. There is, therefore, a desire for popularity and gain acceptance and status among peers, which causes girls to be easily tempted into accepting gifts or money from teachers or sugar daddies. The girls are therefore coerced by obligation into a dependent and exploitative sexual relationship. And as stated in the previous study as well, even the girls from the more affluent middle class homes are drawn into the sugar daddy trap, although their reasons for involvement are based on the desire to be seen as grown up, receiving gifts and basically having fun.
The study found that girls enter who sexual relationships with adult men, do so primarily for money, and in doing so merely accept the role taught to them by society where women look for men for physical, financial and moral support. It was concluded that these girls, aware of their low status in society and lacking self esteem and confidence, accept male aggression with passivity. This is a terrible stigma in the culture of a society, where women are always at fault, for example, in such situations where women get pregnant through rape. Teenage girls are socialized to see the female sex as fundamentally flawed.
This study provided suggestions as to how school based abuse at all levels could be addressed. It was suggested that girls should act as a group to discuss problems, support each other and learn about their rights. Also school based workshops should be held with teachers and parents to raise awareness about abuse and to develop school based action plans to address it. Also inviting girls who have dropped out of school because of pregnancy to talk about the difficulties they face and create help lines and message boxes for girls to report abuse. But the most important and relevant suggestion to our study is to provide imaginative careers guidance for girls to help broaden their horizons beyond a future as a housewife and mother, and to raise self-esteem and expectations. This in our opinion can help to reduce the vast number of young women who feel they have to enter into these kinds of relationships in order for them to survive in society.
“Inside Africa” (suntimes.co.az/1998/09/02/insight/in05.htm) provides even more insight into the sugar daddy phenomenon in Zambia. This article, unlike the previous ones, focuses more on the sugar daddies interpretation of these relationships. They start of by describing the sugar daddy as a ‘familiar figure’ that can be noted by his sleek car (if not a fleet) and a string of businesses to boast of, whose specialty is bedding young girls, in some cases young enough to be his granddaughter. A very important point brought about in this article was the fact that the sugar daddy perceives girls as objects not only of lust and ego, but a possession to be shown off and then discarded, not unlike the vehicles he drives and changes at will. The author of this study makes clear that the sugar daddy is quite particular about the things he wants, but the girls do not always realize the risks involved and what the man’s real intentions are. These men have many young girls sticking to him ‘like lice’, and in his own social circle will boast about his ‘sugar chicks’, a term that generates congratulatory laughter and, positive recognition, among his peers.
The study goes on to describe the variations of sugar daddy relationships. They apparently range from a fairly casual approach, for example, offering a schoolgirl a lift and taking her into a hotel for a “quickie” before dropping her off at school and instantly forgetting her. They can then escalate to a more permanent situation, where the girl graduates to a mistress with a rented house and expenses paid, until pregnancy or the desire for variety sends the sugar daddy searching for newer conquests.
In the previously discussed study “Africa: The ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon”, there was a point made attributing the practice of young girls entering sugar daddy relationships, to an “increasingly materialistic society”. In this article “Inside Africa”, this point is supported, although from the male perspective. The author states that like the girl in this sordid situation, the male too may be a victim of circumstances. He is described as a product of a materialistic culture that places high value on possessions. Such possessions only carry enough distinction when they are admired and he is proud to win such admiration from girls.
The article goes on to state that sex for money or gifts has become a coping strategy for dealing with poverty and is not seen as commercial sex work, which is ironically what it was compared to in the article “Searching for Regeneration”. Studies on adolescent reproduction health, including patterns of sexual behaviour, indicate that this is indeed a frequent occurrence, where sugar daddies take advantage of the social concept that males are expected to periodically provide their partners with money and gifts. This relates to the point made in the study about the sugar daddy trap and peer pressure, which stated that girls only perpetuate the role society, has for women as dependent on men. “Inside Africa” also supported this statement noting that women generally lack complete control over their lives and are traditionally taught from childhood to be obedient and submissive to males. In sexual relations, a woman is expected to please her partner, even at the expense of her own pleasure and well-being.
The article finally presents the problem of the increased AIDS rate among adolescents, which was also the basis of the study “Africa: The ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon”. The peak ages for HIV are 20–29 years for females and 30-39 for males. Women in the 15-19 age groups are said to be five times more likely to be infected as males in the same age group. These findings suggest a significant level of transmission from older men to younger women. HIV/AIDS affects the sexes differently, where the dominance of men and lack of self assertiveness on the part of women, puts the latter at greater risk.
In two other studies, not directly related to the sugar daddy phenomenon, an indirect explanation of how individuals choose their mates, in this case, the sugar daddy or the young woman, is offered. In the first study “Ideals in Intimate Relationships” (Fletcher et al, 1999), the question posed is one involving the basis people become involved in intimate relationships. They start by stating that relationships are based, to some extent, on the consistency between general relationship standards or expectations and perceptions of the current relationship. Simply, people will choose their partners based on certain pre-determined standards and expectations they hold. So, for example, if a woman sees a man’s financial status as necessary for a relationship, she will choose her partner based on this criterion. The study states that recent research and theorizing suggest that comparisons between prior standards and perceptions of the current relationships are made on content-rich dimensions. This involves specific ideal standards rather than global dimensions reflecting expectations of the rewards available in relationships. Therefore both the old men and young women in sugar daddy relationships have certain characteristics about the other (men want sex, women want money), which are the bases for choosing them as partners.
The study uses the Social-Cognitive approach to explain that decisions made about the current relationship are based on ideals held by the individuals, which are cognitions naturally located in areas that overlap self and relationships. This supports the point discusses previously, where it is indeed pre-conceived notions, in this approach ideals, that are the bases for choosing a partner. The sugar daddy will want to choose the female who can fulfill his sexual needs and fantasies, which in his opinion has to be someone young and fresh.
An Evolutionary Perspective was also used in this study where the standards people use to evaluate their partners, are based on a basic instinct of survival, of the individual and the relationship on a whole. They state that 3 major dimensions are used to define the standards people use. These are the prospective partners: 1.Capacity for intimacy and commitment, 2. Attractiveness and general health and 3.Social status and resources. Each of theses represents a different route to obtaining a mate and promoting one’s own reproductive fitness. For our study the most important of these dimensions to note was the prospective partner’s social status and resources, which relates to the main reason young women engage in sugar daddy relationships. By considering these factors, young women are more likely to obtain a mate who can ascend social hierarchies and provide very good financial support. For the sugar daddy, the prospective partner’s social status and resources are not considered but her attractiveness and general health are seen as important factors. For him, one of the main reasons for choosing a young woman is so he can show her off to his friends, her attractiveness is therefore essential if he is to achieve this.
In the study it was found that, whereas the other dimensions were strongly correlated, status and resources were not as strongly correlated to the other dimensions. This did not take away from its importance in relationships, but merely put it in a category on its own. This can be seen in sugar daddy relationships, where emphasis in these relationships is put on the financial aspect, which is the main factor for the establishment of these relationships, more so than intimacy and commitment.
The final study with an indirect explanation of the sugar daddy phenomenon is “Sexual Strategies. An Evolutionary Perspective on Human Mating” (Buss, D. and Schmitt, D., 1993). This study examines a contextual-evolutionary theory of human mating strategies, where people have distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie short term and long term strategies. As a result, different mate preferences become activated from these strategies. For the purpose of our study, we narrowed down some of the problems men and women face in short term and long term, which as described in the article “Inside Africa”, can be two variations of sugar daddy relationships. They provide some reasons and explanations for the existence of sugar daddy relationships.
In short term relationships men have the problem of sexual accessibility, that is, to find women who will be willing to provide sex on a short term basis. Men, being the less investing sex, in terms of commitment, devote time, energy, and resources on women for whom sexual accessibility is unlikely to interfere with the successful enactment of a short-term sexual strategy. This is reflected in the sugar daddy relationships where men are willing to give a lot of them financially to get women who will give of themselves sexually and for each there is not necessarily a need for the relationship to be long term. For women, there are various benefits to be gained from short term relationships. Women can (and frequently do) obtain resources in exchange for short-term copulations. In many societies, men are expected to bring gifts such as food or jewellery to their mistresses, and women may decline to engage in sex if these gifts are not presented. The study noted that an obvious form of short term mating is prostitution, which we have previously likened to what happens in sugar daddy relationships. If immediate extraction of resources is one potential benefit of short-term mating for women, then women who pursue a short-term mating strategy should prefer in mates characteristics that signal immediate resource provisioning. They should dislike characteristics such as frugality that imply that such resources will not be forthcoming. These are all characteristics found in the young woman involved in these relationships.
In long term mating, which would in our study apply to situations where the young girl has become the mistress of the sugar daddy, women want a long-term mate because of the male parental investment that women garner through long-term mating. Men may provide women with food, find or defend territories, and feed and protect the children. They may also provide opportunities for learning; they may transfer status, power, or resources; and they may aid offspring in forming reciprocal alliances later in life. As opposed to a casual encounter in sugar daddy relationships, as previously described in “Inside Africa”, where the man simply offered the school girl a ride to get a “quickie” after which he instantly forgot about her, in the longer sugar daddy relationships the young women begin to get the benefits of houses, cars and other things which suggest a kind permanency of the relationship. For men these relationships may cut down the problem of using up a lot of time, energy and resources on repeatedly seeking short-term mates. In these longer sugar daddy relationships, the male is getting exactly what is desired from this young woman and she satisfies him completely. Some of these men become very controlling in these situations and claim ownership of these young women who have to commit to these relationships for a long time, or face the risk of losing their financial support and being abuse (whether verbally or physically).
The study provided other suggestions as to short term and long term relationships, but the ones we have discussed definitely apply to our research on the sugar daddy phenomenon.
All the studies discussed have offered a variety of views, reasons and explanations for the existence of the sugar daddy phenomenon in our society. It is through this in formation that we will guide our research in an attempt to discover if they provide information which can be related to Jamaican society and help to explain its existence as well. We will also be able to decipher any differences in our findings and the findings of these studies, in order to see whether or not the causes are different and therefore need to be researched more and addressed by the Jamaican society.