Interesting comments on the market participants (SDs), and securities (SBs) from the perspective of the financial industry...

Mo doubt there is a predatory feeling with some SBs.

Drawing in those barely over the age of 18 to sell their bodies to old men in order to pay off debt. Does that sound okay to you?

and this
Please can someone explain to me how this service is anything but self-directed prostitution with a sugar coating? Please?!

Like they are bad things......I don't see the problem.

I get the strong feeling that the author is a "she", not a "he". I think she is an English university student, and clearly
- Is not attracted to more mature men!  
- Is not happy that the much increased cost of attending university in England and Wales is encouraging (she would probably say "forcing") students to  opt for SD/SB relationships.

If your paying bills to help someone to survive it makes things a little different.      That 18yr old help sounds bad but more than often the women have debts for rent , transportation, utilities.           Would you put them on the street.  
How many people give their girlfriends or wives money for bills.   I see no difference.     Often the meetings can turn into a relationship .       My SB says she loves me.      23 yr age difference.

I am 58, a woman 23 years younger than me would still be 35 and at the very UPPER limit of a woman I might be interested in whether hooker, SB or Civvie.  

Is it really up to some journalist to decide for these women whether they should slave away at ten bucks an hour or less, with no hope of ever getting out of debt, or find some guy who will give her ten times that in a "mutually beneficial" relationship?

It's one thing to say "I would NEVER do that" it's quite another to try to take that choice away from other women who might feel differently.

A few observations....
A well-groomed, polite gentleman subsidising a young lady's lifestyle is an age-old paradigm....which is why they used to have chaperones....I agree with PP that the complainer is a female university student, who should be aware that when these ladies are not being plesantly entertained by (us) they are giving the same away to a drunk, pimple-faced mouth breather or two  over on fraternity row, for free.

Agree with previous comments about the author. Definitely a female and definitely biased towards monogamous relationship and against pre-marital sex.    

Having said that, she also conveniently leaves out a few relevant aspects of 18-24 year old female student life:  

1. Freshmen 18-24 year old female students are already having sex at a healthy rate. Not all to be sure, but a fair percentage of them see college as their time to explore their sexuality and indulge in being an adult.  As long as the student is interested in having an active sex life, the SD/SB world provides access to an alternative population of partners that ultimately provide safer (much less risk of frat-style incidents) and much more beneficial experiences.  

2. The article implies that SB's are being "forced" to have sex with men who will provide sugar. This is just not true. I have had plenty of negotiations with POT SB's that did not end with an agreement. All parties are free to walk away at any time.  Yes we talk about negotiating strategies here, as the SB's do on their blogs as well. But consent is still a critical component and no still means no.  

To be fair, there are bad SD actors in the mix and the SB should always be careful to take precautions like deep vetting of the SD, public meetings at first, and ensuring she has a friend that knows where she's going and why.   These are, in fact the same type of precautions that SD's should take.  SB's should aggressively report SD's who threaten, coerce, blackmail, drug, or try to force them into situations or actions they do not want. Banning from the site and, where appropriate, referring them to local law enforcement helps keep all of us safer and makes the sugar bowl better for all.  

Engaging in the sugar bowl is definitely not for everyone.   The Hallmark or LifeTime movies we see about this are always inaccurate in so many ways.