Why the condemnation is absurd?
A report released by the SeekingArrangment in February 2021 has illustrated a significant presence of “sugar daddies” in Asia. Among the categories of “sugar babies,” university students and fresh graduates are the top 2 categories of “sugar babies,” and it is believed that the financial pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the registration of new users of the application by 35–40% throughout the region.
Subsequently, several politicians have stepped out and asserted such practice as immoral and against their conservative values. However, these views are very shallow as those politicians and governmental agencies simply and narrowly define the “sugar relationship” like prostitution. Asian governments always tend to overreact on wrong issues but underreact on some significant issues such as corruption, human trafficking, income inequality, gender inequality, and pollution. For instance, Malaysia has banned access to “sugar dating” websites such as Sugarbook within the territory and the founder of the app has been arrested recently.
The actions that taken by some government for prohibiting the “sugar relationship” is redundant but this is understandable as the average age of Asian lawmakers is between 50–55 years old which old pattern of thinking is inevitable. Additionally, the growing conservative rhetoric is undeniably pushing Asian society backward.
Degradation of Women
Strictly speaking, the “sugar relationship” can just be categorized as a “grey area” on moral grounds but absolutely cannot be claimed as unethical since the relationship occurs between two consenting adults. In fact, the government must be ashamed of their actions and statements because they directly degrade the position of women and dismiss their ways of survival by preventing them from choosing a reasonable path that could empower them in their future career, network, and finance. This justification further brings another issue in Asia- the obnoxious patriarchy embedding in politics and society.
Incapability of Government
As a consequence of COVID-19, household incomes are seriously affected and all educational activity has been shifted online for about a year now. It means students are having less access to campus facilities. However, there is no sign of reduction of university fees, both public and private universities — triggering financial pressure on students and households. Thus, the concept of “sugar babies” is a mechanism for their survival. In other words, the action against the “sugar relationship” is like slapping themselves for their failure on assisting students financially.
Absurd Force of Religion
In some countries, religion is constantly utilized to justify and criticize certain actions or practices, but the justification is mostly less persuasive and is definitely unfit for the current society. The saddest part is this secular phenomenon is nearly impossible to be alleviated and similar incidents will happen in the future predictably. Though this is not my place to talk as I am an atheist or their so-called non-believer, still, I want to express my view on the issue. Religious-oriented countries won’t go far in the future and they will always be the “loser” eventually (eg. Ottoman Empire). Other categories of “sugar baby” including entrepreneurs, engineers, lawyers, doctors, and investors who are essential drivers for the development of the country. Hence, I argue that prohibiting the “sugar relationship” and capturing involved parties are practically like (economically) chronic suicide.
