London's 'Belle de Jour' Is a Scientist Who Had Sex for Tuition Money
DandyDan
North Iowa
I know it is common to hear of dancers who say they are going to school, but how many of them become scientists? This from http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/11/16/lond…
The jig is up. Belle de Jour, the former prostitute behind the popular column "Diary of a London Call Girl" and TV series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" is really British research scientist Dr. Brooke Magnanti, 34. Dr. Magnanti gave the oldest reason for turning to the oldest profession -- to pay for her PhD.
She came forward now allegedly out of fear that an ex-boyfriend might out her. Not even her literary agent knew who she really was.
"It was time. I've felt so much guardedness and paranoia about remaining anonymous recently," Dr. Magnanti told The Sunday Times. "... I don't want this massive secret over me anymore."
But let's step back a moment -- Dr. Magnanti's story isn't anything we haven't heard before. Melissa Beech (not her real name), a college senior from a swanky suburb outside Philadelphia, has written about how a sugar daddy is paying for her schooling in The Daily Beast. Until last fall, a student alleging to be a call girl detailed her experiences at the blog Confessions of a College Callgirl. In the summer, a Knoxville, Tenn., media outlet interviewed a 19-year-old using escorting to pay for massage therapy school. (Stifle that laugh.)
The number of students having sex for tuition money has exploded in Europe, and experts believe it will continue to rise due to the rising costs of education. British researchers found this unusual trend in sex work has grown by 50 percent over the past seven years. In early 2008, France's education minister vowed to increase financial support after a freshman's diary and a book of interviews with undergrads exposed their experiences with prostitution.
It makes sense. There are few jobs you can work while going to school full-time that can truly help you pay for an education. (Read the claim by "Freakonomics" authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner that prostitution can get you the most buck for your bang.)
So since we've heard stories like Dr. Magnanti's before, maybe there's still an outcry because society still can't accept a woman using both her sexuality and her smarts. Why can't a smart cookie give up the cookie as a means to an end? Or maybe it's the fact that Dr. Magnanti went really far in her education that irks us. Commenters are hissing that she's somehow less, her degree somehow not as credible, because she paid for it with carnal currency.
The most shocking part of Dr. Magnanti's story may be that she didn't get exposed before now. With her revelation, maybe stereotypes of exactly what kind of woman engages in the sex industry will start to fall away.
And maybe the next time a highly educated woman admits she did the deed to get a degree, we won't judge her so harshly.
The jig is up. Belle de Jour, the former prostitute behind the popular column "Diary of a London Call Girl" and TV series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" is really British research scientist Dr. Brooke Magnanti, 34. Dr. Magnanti gave the oldest reason for turning to the oldest profession -- to pay for her PhD.
She came forward now allegedly out of fear that an ex-boyfriend might out her. Not even her literary agent knew who she really was.
"It was time. I've felt so much guardedness and paranoia about remaining anonymous recently," Dr. Magnanti told The Sunday Times. "... I don't want this massive secret over me anymore."
But let's step back a moment -- Dr. Magnanti's story isn't anything we haven't heard before. Melissa Beech (not her real name), a college senior from a swanky suburb outside Philadelphia, has written about how a sugar daddy is paying for her schooling in The Daily Beast. Until last fall, a student alleging to be a call girl detailed her experiences at the blog Confessions of a College Callgirl. In the summer, a Knoxville, Tenn., media outlet interviewed a 19-year-old using escorting to pay for massage therapy school. (Stifle that laugh.)
The number of students having sex for tuition money has exploded in Europe, and experts believe it will continue to rise due to the rising costs of education. British researchers found this unusual trend in sex work has grown by 50 percent over the past seven years. In early 2008, France's education minister vowed to increase financial support after a freshman's diary and a book of interviews with undergrads exposed their experiences with prostitution.
It makes sense. There are few jobs you can work while going to school full-time that can truly help you pay for an education. (Read the claim by "Freakonomics" authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner that prostitution can get you the most buck for your bang.)
So since we've heard stories like Dr. Magnanti's before, maybe there's still an outcry because society still can't accept a woman using both her sexuality and her smarts. Why can't a smart cookie give up the cookie as a means to an end? Or maybe it's the fact that Dr. Magnanti went really far in her education that irks us. Commenters are hissing that she's somehow less, her degree somehow not as credible, because she paid for it with carnal currency.
The most shocking part of Dr. Magnanti's story may be that she didn't get exposed before now. With her revelation, maybe stereotypes of exactly what kind of woman engages in the sex industry will start to fall away.
And maybe the next time a highly educated woman admits she did the deed to get a degree, we won't judge her so harshly.
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion
13 comments
Research scientist though? Was she gathering empirical data for a socialogical study? AMAZING! She has a literary agent! What are the chances???
I bet a CNBC producer has already contacted her...
As for Belle, she has a literary agent BECAUSE SHE'S ALREADY PUBLISHED 3 books and has at least one or two others in the pipeline. And, CNBC? Did you miss the part about the 3-season (so far) TV show based on her blog/books?
First off, I'd get a LD from that English chick any day. Secondly, my experience a long while ago when I was going to college showed me that there really weren't a whole lot of scholarships (especially academic vs. sports) or grants that were available to many students. Also, a loan is something that you're going to have to *pay back* likely during a time when you are trying to get yourself on your feet right after graduation. Many people work their way through school, and who's to say that doing this job vs. that job is the "right" way to do it.
"I know people all have plenty of problems and disadvantages but do you know of a college that accepts $1 bills?"
Wow, this is quite a disingenuous comment.
I met a girl recently at Ciro's in Albany, NY that said that she was studying to be a nurse. It could have been SS or not, but, if it wasn't, I told her that she's getting into a field where they desperately need more nurses...so more power to her.
There is no doubt in my mind that there are many dancers out there that are more intelligent than you and there are many that can carry on conversations about investments and current events. You probably hang with the wrong ones based upon your opinions.
ttf: You guys have it good down in Texas, especially Houston. That city has the 2nd most strip clubs in the US (behind Portland). Have you been to Columbus, OH? It is rare to find an intelligent non drug abusing dancer here. The last one I met was from Texas and moved back.
MG: Somebody sounds a little bitter that their team did not win the Big Ten and make it to the rose bowl. Go Luckeyes! (err..I mean Buckeyes LOL)