Here’s her blog, Belle De Jour.
Larry Rohter in NYT:
The debate over the authorship and authenticity of the books and blog posts that eventually became the Showtime series “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” — criticized for supposedly glamorizing prostitution — seems to be over. A British scientist, Brooke Magnanti, told The Sunday Times in London that she was “Belle de Jour,” the escort whose sexual experiences were recounted in the blog and in three books. Ms. Magnanti, who works as a child health researcher at the University of Bristol in England, said she started in the sex trade in 2003, when she was finishing her Ph.D, and continued for more than a year. She explained that she had decided to go public now because she feared an ex-boyfriend was about to expose her. She added on her blog that she was relieved “to be able to defend what my experience of sex work is like to all the skeptics and doubters.”
She claims to have earned £300 a night, which I find baffling on a number of levels. And says that her blog “will continue for a bit – I’d like her to have a happy ending.” Which is an amusing double entendre, whether intentional or otherwise.
Her “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” blog was controversial, since it depicted prostitution as glamorous. Since the blogger was pseudonymous,many speculated that it was a work of fiction, with some claiming the author was a man. Presuming Magnanti’s claim to authorship is genuine, it’ll be interesting to see what the reactions are.
Robert Quigley at Mediate:
As (Mediaite site designer) Rex Sorgatz points out, Belle de Jour’s blog never became quite the phenomenon in the US that it is in the UK, and so the response to the news thus far has come primarily from British outlets. The zingiest stateside one-liner, by the way, has to be Foster Kamer’s headline, ”Anonymous Call Girl Author Belle de Jour Outed as ‘Slutty Scientist’ Costume Incarnate.”
The traditional outlets beat the tabloids to the punch on this one, so most of what’s come out so far has been fact-based, restrained, and, if not entirely sex-positive, sex neutral. India Knight had been a critic of Belle de Jour for glamorizing prostitution, but while her exclusive doesn’t let Magnanti off the hook, she strikes a balance. The BBC largely reports through quotes from the Times piece and press statements; The Guardian takes the interesting tack of responding with a sympathetic column by an outed sex blogger, Zoe Margolis.
Once they play catch-up, the British tabloid response of the next few days (months?) should be something. Already, the “ex-boyfriend with a big mouth” seems poised to make a comeback; apparently, he is an Army officer about to be deployed to Afghanistan, and wants Magnanti back. The Sun has already eagerly coined “net tart.” The restraint and lack of judgment displayed both in the first round of media reports and by the people in Magnanti’s life really are remarkable, but when the tabloids enter the picture, odds are things will get a lot muddier.
Tracy Corrigan at The Telegraph:
Here’s a life plan for any young, bright girls who are worried about the impact of the recession. Work hard at school and go to university. If things get a bit sticky financially – who wants to pile up a load of student debt? – maybe turn a trick or two. Then write a blog about it and become a multi-media phenomenon. Result: you’ll be pretty, rich, happy and successful. What more could a girl ask for?
This is the story so far, according to Dr Brooke Magnanti, the former prostitute/Belle de Jour blogger/research scientist who revealed her identity at the weekend. Everything is great. Her colleagues are really understanding. And the latest development is that she’s told her mother and guess what: “My mother is being fully supportive and says she’s ’not one to judge’.”
Does the plot remind you of anything? With a minor twist, it’s the movie Pretty Woman, a ghastly Julia Roberts vehicle the moral of which seemed to be that prostitution is a great way to meet the man of your dreams and live happily ever after. (Belle has a career instead – how modern.)
I thought Pretty Woman was a horribly cynical Hollywood treatment of prostitution. But there is something more deeply unnerving about Belle, and that is her unrelenting chirpiness. Even the Julia Roberts heroine seemed to have had a tough background and was not an entirely happy hooker. Belle, it turns out, was a really clever girl, with a great career ahead of her and it has all gone swimmingly .
It seems this sanitised, glamorised, picture of posh prostitution is supposed to make us think, well, really, what’s the harm? It is possible that Belle has emerged from her experiences without incurring psychological or physical damage. But it’s no excuse for projecting prostitution as a rather fun, pragmatic passtime for smart girls.
Most prostitute’s stories are of course rather less pretty than Belle’s. I recently heard a former prostitute explain on the radio that many prostitutes are drug addicts not only because they work to finance their habits, but also because they need to medicate themselves in order to be able to ply their trade.
My problem with Belle is not so much that she chose to turn to prostitution, just because she didn’t want to do a job that was boring and poorly paid, but that she then chose to promote it as a cool career option.
Around The Sphere 