, famous demi-mondaine, 1902 Transactional companionship and
transactional sex between wealthy and often older men and younger attractive women (or in some cases, young men) has existed throughout history and across many cultures. Various forms of
courtesanship, both informal and institutionalized, have existed since antiquity. In France during the era (1871–1914), there was a well-known
demimonde of wealthy men and
demi-mondaines, attractive women who provided entertainment and companionship. At the end of the 19th century in the United States, a similar phenomenon known as
treating arose. In the early 20th century, women who would use their sexual attractiveness to win over wealthy men came to be known as "
vamps" and "
gold diggers". In Japan and other East Asian countries, the phenomenon of
enjo kōsai, which bears a strong resemblance to western "sugaring", has become well-known since the 1990s. There are several versions of how the terms "sugar daddy" and "sugar baby" originated.
Oxford English Dictionary attributes the earliest evidence of "sugar daddy" as being from a 1926 work by British author
Gilbert Frankau titled
My Unsentimental Journey, a
travelogue of his journey through the United States.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary and
The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English also list the term as dating from 1926, though without attribution. However, examples of the term's appearance in print exist prior to 1926. However,
etymologist Michael Quinion argues that this version of the story is doubtful, noting that no contemporary sources link the term to Adolph and Alma Spreckels, and that seemingly the earliest source for this story dates from about 2009. Mention of any such connection is also notably absent from the 1990 biography of Alma de Bretteville Spreckels. Michael Quinion, and several other authors point to the publicity surrounding the unsolved
killing of Dorothy "Dot" King in 1923 as the earliest appearance in print of the term "sugar daddy", as well as the analogous "sugar baby". Publicity from the affair introduced the general public to the world of "heavy sugar babies" and "heavy sugar daddies", terms derived from the use of "sugar" as slang for money and "heavy sugar" for large amounts of wealth. The "heavy" part of the terms were soon dropped, and "sugar daddy" and "sugar baby" became part of the English
lexicon. with reputed gold-digger
Peggy Hopkins Joyce being one of the most written-about women in the American press in the 1920s. As was the case with "gold digger", "sugar daddy" became ensconced in popular culture beginning in the 1920s, often in less-risque and light-hearted contexts. A
Laurel and Hardy short titled
Sugar Daddies was produced in 1927.
Sugar Daddy and
Sugar Babies brands of candy were introduced in 1932 and 1935, respectively. "Sugar daddy" and "heavy sugar daddy" have also sometimes been used to describe a wealthy
patron of a person or institution without any sexual or romantic connotation. The growth of sugaring websites led to the rapid growth and increased visibility of the phenomenon of "sugar dating" by the late 2000s, and turned the networking aspect of sugar relationships into a largely online phenomenon. ==Prevalence==