Subjectivation Analysis of Queer Sugar Babes

Sugar-dating relationships are typically portrayed as transactional arrangements in which one party, the Sugar Daddy, provides financial/material support, while the other party, the Sugar Babe, usually younger and economically less privileged, offers emotions, time, and, in some cases, sexuality in return. In public discourse, this arrangement is often viewed through heteronormative and binary gender lenses, with cis-men depicted as financially dominant actors and cis-women as economically dependent ones. This binary gender logic also shapes much of the academic research, leading to the frequent neglect or omission of queer individuals' experiences in this context.

This study aims to close this research gap by focusing on queer individuals who act as Sugar Babes. Three queer individuals were recruited through a German-speaking sugar-dating online platform, and narrative interviews were conducted. The question of the relationship between subjection and empowerment of the subject was examined within the framework of a power-critical subjectivation analysis, using the methods of positioning and agency analysis. Additionally, it aimed to reconstruct what knowledge, practices, and techniques of self-governance accompanied the subject position of the Sugar Babe.

The preliminary findings of the study show that queer individuals in the subject position of Sugar Babes navigate a tension between affirming their gender identity and the financial/material benefits of the arrangement. To manage this contradiction, they develop techniques that emphasize the transactional nature of the arrangement to legitimize the practice of sugar dating. Through contractual-like agreements on how the meeting with a Sugar Daddy is structured, the arrangement also functions as a kind of safe space, enabling the generation of knowledge about heteronormative dating without fully abandoning their queer identity. Overall, the study highlights that queer Sugar Babes are able to both preserve their identity and create new spaces for emancipation and awareness of queer life realities.