How Sugar Dating Introduced Me to Prostitution

Posted by Lana West on February 28, 2018

I’m a romantic. I am also a millennial. So when I decided I wanted to get married as a single, 20-something living in Los Angeles, I did what any good millennial would do and took to the internet. Surely I’d find my husband on one of these social dating apps: Tinder, Bumble, PlentyofFish. Recent research revealed that 19% of brides-to-be met their husbands online, so I figured my odds were good! Ah yes, soon I’d be jetting off to Bora Bora with my new hubby on our tropical honeymoon feeling exhilarated, secure, and totally in love.

I chose Tinder and started swiping. What would ensue were the single worst five dates of my entire life. It was like Tinder had recruited all the biggest assholes and crammed them into one tight space called the Tinderverse, aka My Nightmare. One guy invited me on a date to play pool, to which I arrived to find was actually a date with him and 10 of his closest friends. Once in a while, he’d remember I was there and would turn to me and whisper sweet nothings in my ear such as, “Do you have money for beer?” My tummy grumbling, he made up for his less-than-stellar start by inviting me to his house to share his homemade leftovers. How nice, I thought. He hopped into our Uber with a warm smile–that was directed at his friends because I was not inside the vehicle! He had unwittingly left without me while I took a short trip to the ladies room. Needless to say, he never got another date with me, although I don’t think he was interested in dating anyone but himself. The following four—and final—dates with different Tinderers were even worse. 

Lamenting my troubles to a gal pal, she told me of a magical place on the internet where the men were handsome, polite, successful, and no-nonsense. “Join a sugar dating site–you’ll definitely have better luck,” she cooed. I made my sugar dating profile the next day, and soon I was getting tons of messages from seemingly great guys: doctors, lawyers, and businessmen with hair that smelled of rosewater and sandalwood, and strong bodies fed exclusively by Whole Foods. I chose the moniker, “IdealWifey,” because I am, in that I’m nice, driven, and sexual; I will always be a team player, I’ll always make money for us, and I’ll always have a very healthy sexual appetite.  One of the greatest parts about these great guys was how great their pocket books were. I got caught up in the flash and the show of it all. One guy took me to the top of a skyscraper to a 4-star restaurant overlooking the entire city, feeding me hamachi crudo and foie gras terrine over our second glass of Duckhorn Cabernet 2014. Luxurious dinners were a regular affair, as were lavish shopping trips, fun vacations, and many exorbitant gifts. One even helped me buy a car.

I enjoyed the stimulating conversation and found their stories inspiring for my own business aspirations. I was offered business connections and future startup money. These guys believed in me! I was continuously impressed by the knowledge, power, and presence all these guys seemed to have in common; I definitely wasn’t in Tinder-land anymore. Soon I was flying all over the country to New York, Miami, Seattle, Chicago, going on vacations with my suitors, all expenses paid plus plenty of spending money, of course. 

All the men I met on sugar dating websites just wanted to treat me nicely, fuck my brains out and give me all their money. It was too good to be true. It seemed that I had opened a Pandora’s Box that I could not un-open. I was drawn like a drug. After a few months, it was clear to me that there lied a direct relationship between money and sex. I’d meet a guy, and if we had chemistry and I was horny, we’d have sex. I’m pretty much always horny, so this outcome was common.  Upon our goodbye kiss, he’d hand me a stack of cash and tell me to go pamper myself. If we didn’t have chemistry, I wouldn’t have sex and I’d leave empty-handed. It boggled my mind that normal guys, total law-abiding citizens with prominence in their communities, were totally okay with this. 

“Yes,” I realized, “all this ‘arrangement’ jargon is just a euphemism for ‘prostitution’.” My experiences were that of deep emotional connection, quality memories, great sex, and lots of money—some of my favorite things! I decided that if this is prostitution, then prostitution is awesome and I’m 100% for it. If these men that I respected and revered approved of prostitution, I reasoned, then I do too! Being the fiercely independent woman that I am, I wanted to go make my own money instead of waiting on a sugar daddy to give it to me. I also wanted to ensure my safety, as my trusting attitude could have gotten me into trouble if I had continued to meet strangers online. 

I wanted see what else this money/sex adventure had in store for my life. I called Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Nevada and applied for a courtesan position, a move I was a little apprehensive about because of the social stigma. What would my friends think? There is not a social stigma for sugar baby prostitution, but for some beguiling reason unbeknownst to me, as soon as you go legal and safe within the confines of a licensed brothel, society balks. I really hope I can help get the message out there that sugar dating IS prostitution, and also that prostitution really isn’t a big deal.  It can be fun if you have the personality for it, as well provide an invaluable opportunity that will serve as a springboard towards future successes.

So yes, sugar dating introduced me to prostitution, and now I’m one of the top earners at the most famous legal brothel in the world. Thanks sugar dating!

With the financial freedom I have garnered from sex work, I’ll be able to pay off my college loans and start a business next year, goals that would have been 10+ years away from feasibility if I hadn’t accidentally discovered sex work. I enjoy emotional connection, great conversation, and sex, and I get all of this at work. As a sexually progressive person, I assign no morality to the number of sexual partners one has; I think people should do what they want with their own bodies and be happy. I looked inside myself and found that Bunny Ranch makes perfect sense for me at this point in my life. It’s a personal choice that aligns with my morals, values, and goals. For now, I have put off the mission of meeting The One so that I can achieve my goals, but there’s ample time for love later, and I’ll be better equipped to start a family post-Bunny Ranch because I already have a nest egg.

The future looks so bright! I wouldn’t change a thing about the way things unfurled. Sometimes life is strange, but you just have to follow your heart and everything else will work itself out!