Billie Piper in the dramatization of Belle du Jour's story, Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Image courtesy Showtime.

Never has the story of a whore with a heart of gold rang more true. The infamous prostitute, Belle du Jour, recently came out with her true identity after her ex-boyfriend threatened to reveal it. Like any smart girl, Belle got there first. She interviewed with her former critic, Sunday Times journalist India Knight, who published the interview on November 15th. The article revealed her true identity to be that of Brooke Magnanti, a research scientist at the Bristol Institute for Research of Child Health. That's right, the former escort is now researching the effects of pesticides on children.

Herein lies lies the irony- the girl formerly abhorred for glamorizing the world's oldest profession has in fact the perfect career for a modern day role model. Raina Kelley at Newsweek's The Human Condition blogs, " I’m kinda jealous of her, I have to admit. Magnanti is like a year of feminist studies rolled into one. I would have loved to be the first credible candidate for one of feminism’s holy grails: the empowered sex worker—able to expose herself to patriarchal fantasies of male domination without becoming damaged goods." And she has a point. A majority of feminists would be ashamed to be called a prostitute, a job so entwined in the degradation of purchasing women. But I believe that Magnanti should be considered a role model. Here's what she had to say on why she became Belle du Jour, prostitute and secret blogger: