I have been asked my thoughts on Belle de Jour outing herself as Doctor Brooke Magnati. I am ashamed to say (sorry Brooke) that I was a none believer. In fact it was the book Belle De Jour that prompted me to write. I found the book very sensationalised and titillating and I was convinced that it was written by a man! I wanted to write a book to show a more realistic rounded view of both the good and bad side of escorting.
I have to confess I hadn't started reading the blog, until recently so I can only really comment on the book. The book made escorting sound very glamorous, and it can be but it certainly isn't always like that, there wasn't anything negative about the profession in there. I wrote about my embarrassing experiences and I think had Brooke done the same it would have sounded more believable. I think for a rounded book you need 'the good the bad and the ugly' so to speak. Had I not been an escort myself I suspect I would have perhaps found the book more believable and enjoyable.
However I very much enjoy Belle's writing style and quick, observational wit, especially through her blog which I now follow.
I realise now that maybe Brooke because she was keeping anonymous almost created another persona for herself, there was Brooke the doctor, X the escort, and then Belle who was possibly a character very different to her actual escort persona and certainly the agency she worked with was also very different and less glamorous than the one described in the book.
I admire her courage in outing herself although from what I've read she was put in an impossible situation and had to come clean before someone did it for her against her will. What an awful situation to be in. I think she has been very lucky to have been able to keep anonymous for so long with the tv series which she apparently helped with along with other things. This was another reason I was doubting Belle's existence because I couldn't believe that she would have been able to keep anonymous for so long, and I joked on one forum thread somewhere that I didn't believe she existed because why would she have secrecy like the MI5 when there are so many greedy people who want to make money and don't care who they hurt in the long run. I just didn't think there were that many decent people around and it's refreshing to know that there are those people out there. I think that Brooke has been incredibly lucky to have avoided these sorts of people and she obviously has amazing, loyal friends. Unfortunately it looks like there was just one bad egg, but still I think it has been 4 or 5 years of anonymity.
I wish Brooke all the best and I am sure she feels proud of her success both as a doctor and as an escort, blogger, best selling author and with the success of the TV series. I have a lot of respect and admiration for her and she has maintained her dignity throughout her recent ordeal. She has paved the way for all of us escorts, broken the stereo types, and shown that some of us are intelligent and can also have successful high power jobs, and that many of us are just normal girls.
Belle if you ever read this thank you! XXXX
Girl power! Rar :)
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