Rare News Desk
A Duke University freshmen, following weeks of speculation in the media and in the halls of Duke University, has opened up publicly about her burgeoning porn career.
Videos by Rare
In an essay posted online, the young student reveals her porn alias, “Belle Knox,” and talks about the harassment and cruelty she received.
According to Knox, she considers herself an open sexual being and got into the porn industry in an effort to help defray the high cost of college tuition. This was her business, yet halfway into her freshman year, a classmate spotted her in an online video.
The classmate then went to a Duke University fraternity message board to alert his collegiate brethren in a profanity laced series of message-board posts. Knox details at length her reason of owning her name and combating the treatment she has faced over her decision.
“Because the bullies of the world — starting with that young Duke man who broke his promise to me — do not dictate my life. Because my decision to do porn does not somehow mean that the world now ‘owns’ or deserves access to every single thing about me and every choice I make,” Knox wrote in a post on xojane.com.
Central to Knox’s essay is the lack of concern University and local police have given her multitude complaints about death threats. Several fake profiles have appeared as Knox online, and each is filled with threats against her life.
Knox believes that, due to the uncomfortable and sexual nature of her other life, her threats haven’t been deemed credible — something she refers to as “slut shaming.” While some may easily write off Knox and decry her for her part-time career, she stands out because of the thoughtful nature of her writing and blunt take on campus politics.
I find myself increasingly the target of marginalization, hate speech on message boards on the Internet and demeaning threats in every avenue of my life. Most recently, I have been told that I am “an embarrassment to Duke,” I bring nothing but bad publicity to my school, and I need to be silent,” Knox wrote.
Before Knox came public, her story had received media attention. In what was then an anonymous interview, Knox described her school life and revealed some tendencies that many young conservatives hold. In an interview with New York Magazine, Knox detailed the plight of the young libertarian.
“I’m a libertarian who is forced to play within party lines because, at this point, our party isn’t strong enough to get anything done without the backing of the Republican Party. It’s really frustrating that when I tell people I’m in College Republicans they immediately assume I’m a bigot and a homophobe. Duke Republicans is completely pro gay rights. Calling somebody a Republican is almost an insult and, personally, I hope the party moves toward a more libertarian style wherein they give rights to gays and more respect to women, and it’s not so driven by religion or by theology,” Knox said in the interview.
