Sugaring in the Northern Europe: a Swedish literature review on sugar relationships

• Grant number: 23/05413-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: February 28, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Leite Júnior
• Grantee: Bruno Henrique Benichio Alves Barbosa
• Supervisor: Lena Gunnarsson
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Örebro University, Sweden
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/14306-0 - "In search of sponsorship": an analysis of sugar relationships in Brazilian digital media, BP.MS

Abstract

This project presents a proposal for a Research Internship Abroad (BEPE/FAPESP) at the Örebro University, Sweden, in dialogue with my master's research in Brazil (FAPESP, n. 2021/14306-0), to be carried out under the supervision of Lena Gunnarsson and in line with her research on sugar relationships in Sweden. As we see in academic literature abroad, these relations can be different in some parts of the world. The dynamics and motivations between sugar daddies and sugar babies and the terms used in these configurations appear differently in some areas of the globe. For instance, in Brazil it is common to refer to these phenomena as "sugar relationships", but in other parts of the world, we see terms like "sugar dating", "compensated dating", or "transactional sex". My main purpose with this project is to do a bibliographic research on the Swedish academic literature on sugar relations to compare them with the Brazilian ones, following some specific objectives in this deepening: I) Explore the formats and dynamics of sugar relationships in Sweden; II) Analyze the motivations of Swedish sugar daters in entering these configurations; III) Check how the Swedish academic literature discusses the connection of sugar relationships with sex work. These objectives will be achieved methodologically through a review of the literature on the subject under the supervision of Lena Gunnarsson and her research group, who have largely researched this topic in Sweden. In Brazil, there is a lack of research on sugar relationships, especially in sociology. Therefore, considering that I will be in contact with an extensive literature, the experience of my advisor and her research group on this topic, this proposal can add relevant contributions to my research in Brazil, as this deepening will help me, for example, to check to what extent we can or cannot approach sugar relationships as a type of sex work. (AU)