As intrigued as I was to learn the true identify of blogger Belle de Jour and her Diary 
of a London Call Girl – she is revealed as a research scientist by the name of Dr Brooke Magnanti – I am struggling to understand why the story had four pages of coverage in today’s Sunday Times.
The story and picture of Brooke had more column inches on its front page than any other news item, as well as being splashed on three pages in its News Review. I find that very excessive, especially as the page one story was repeated in the supplement which went into laborious detail about the advance emails and corroboration columnist India Knight felt she needed in order to believe it was not a hoax.
We are talking about a blogger and call girl here, not a spy such as Anthony Blunt or Kim Philby. Then I could understand this kind of saturation news coverage. But there was no sleeping with the enemy as far as I could tell, nor Cabinet ministers or celebs.
We are told that Brooke turned to prostitution for 14 months in 2003 to fund the final stages of her PHD studies as other paid work would not provide the “get rich quick fix†that she needed to keep her out of debt. Now aged 34, she is a specialist in developmental neurotoxicology in Bristol. An ex-boyfriend was about to spill the beans, so she decided to take control and reveal her true identify herself. Can you imagine what a shock this was for her parents who Brooke was telling this weekend.
My concern about this story is that other impoverished students will regard Brooke as a role model to follow, that she makes being a call girl sound easy, fun and glamorous, particularly as the debt which students face today is much higher than six years ago when she felt forced into selling sex.
Research by Kingston University three years ago found that this was the case, that more students were resorting to prostitution or other jobs in the sex industry to pay rising university tuition fees; their study showed a 50% rise in numbers over the past six years.
That’s what I feel this story should be telling us about. We are in a recession and it is incredibly difficult for students to find work around their studies, even the menial ones which Brooke refused to consider.
With rising tuition fees, these figures could easily soar and many other young women will feel, like Brooke, that they will become a prostitute, without considering the full implications and dangers involved.
Surely that’s not what getting an education should be about.
UPDATE 17 December: Could Brooke’s father’s past association with prostitutes provide the explanation to all this? Read this article and make up your own mind.
Who do you think did her PR Ellee? I wish I could get a column in the Ham & High let alone the The Sunday Times. Also do you think our friend Zoe Margolis will be a just a tad jealous?
Jeremy, according to the article, Brooke contacted India Knight because she had had enough of being anonymous and the threat of being exposed by her ex-boyfriend and India just swooned over her. It was certainly great coverage for Brooke. I cannot say how Zoe will feel, but who would turn down this kind of positive promotion, especially with future literary plans around the corner?
Literary plans indeed.
More on Belle du Jour
Belle’s anonymity has been one of the big mysteries. Another revealed!
The coverage seems excessive, as you say, but it will sell papers in these hard times. Your point about other students taking Brooke as a role model is a good one – it’s a real risk.
When I first saw this, I thought about the classic film of the same name, since I wrote a movie review of it once. I was shocked to find how serious this subject really is! Good work on telling it like it is, Ellee! A dangerous practice to fund one’s tuition, indeed!
Good point Ellee. But the dangers are out there just having a drink. In todays amoral society Belle is certainly going to be a role model and why not? Women are expected to put out and if not are in real danger of being raped. Women often stay silent due to the pressures of the Peter Hitchens approach to rape. If it’s going to happen then be in control and get paid for it.
Many poor women to become prostitutes just to finance commercial college and help their parents. Brooke is a beautiful woman unfortunate, hopefully you can see the future better.
Brilliant the way she turned the tables on her boyfriend who was going to expose her but now faces humiliation from his fellow squaddies.
Geoff, yes, she has opened a real can of worms here.