Haans Gruber/Flickr
Riding on a wave of anti-prostitution sentiment in France, feminist groups there are calling for a crack down on"sugar daddy" websites. These niche matchmaking sites, such as SugarDaddy.fr and SeekingArrangement.com, hook up wealthy men with pretty women who don't mind being arm candy for hire.
Tacky? Possibly. Illegal? Nope. While the sites certainly facilitate sexual relationships, they're more than simply marketplaces for sex.
They don't, however, shy away from advertising the financial aspects of their "mutually beneficial arrangements." And for some folks, this explicit collusion of sex and material comforts is enough to render the whole shebang immoral and criminal.
Heaven forbid men who don't mind being used for their money find women who don't mind being used for their bodies, and vice versa, without having the decency to cloak it in the language of love and romance! For these transgressions, SugarDaddy.fr now faces not just increased legislative scrutiny but also a lawsuit.
Screenshot/SugarDaddy.fr
Brought by French feminist group Équipe d'Action, the suit accuses the website's owners of running a secret prostitution racket. Équipe d'Action and other feminist groups are also asking French lawmakers—who are currently considering legislation that would fine men for soliciting sex from prostitutes—to look into the site and others like it.
"We hope lawmakers will look at (these) websites when they discuss the adoption of the law criminalising the purchasing of sexual acts," said Anne-Cécile Mailfert, a spokeswoman for French feminist group Osez le Feminisme.
Mailfert added that these sites hide "violence against women in beautiful wrapping paper"—because apparently nothing says women's oppression like buying them nice dinners and shoes before taking them to bed.
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