Hooking the anonymous blogger

Longtime anonymous blogger Belle de Jour has revealed herself (I know, this was days ago, forgive my slowness) as scientist Dr. Brooke Magnanti. I was never that interested in Belle, but the reveal article was really compelling. An excerpt:

Despite all this, there is still 10% of me that expects to be met by some rubicund older man—some literary roué of the old school, guffawing at the joke—at the Soho hotel where we are doing the interview. Instead, there is Brooke: 34 years old, small, slight, wearing a purple sweater dress and flat boots with woolly socks folded over the top, her blonde hair in a clip, holding a box of biscuits she’s brought me from Croatia, where she’s just been for her medical work.

The article goes on to discuss her work as a scientist and as a prostitute, and shines a light on the varied experiences of prostitution. I do take issue with her dismissal of human trafficking as a problem for borders—legalizing prostitution always increases human trafficking, which makes it more than just a border issue—but her stance is interesting and worth the read.