Belle Knox
Belle Knox, Duke Porn Star

A student at Duke University, North Carolina has made headlines worldwide after she turned to porn in order to pay college fees.

The student, Belle Knox, has now decided to reveal her face and her performing name.

"Today, I am choosing to reveal my porn identity to the world. My name is Belle Knox, and I wear my Scarlet Letter with pride," she wrote on Xojane website.

Knox said her decision to do porn was driven by a lack of funds for her college tuition.

Despite the student's fears she might not have a normal life again, she claimed she is not afraid of the possibility of not getting a job after graduating, due to the method chosen to raise money for her higher education.

"I wouldn't want to work for someone who discriminates against sex workers," she wrote.

Knox defended her choice, saying she is not "ashamed of porn. On the contrary, doing pornography fulfils me."

Doing pornography fulfills me.
Belle Knox

Knox said her decision to do porn was private, and it was later exposed by a fellow Duke student after he had seen her on the internet.

"After promising me he would respect my privacy, he proceeded to reveal who I was to the entire Greek system, which is when all of this controversy first began. I started to be harassed. He started to be applauded," she explained.

The student said she has been the target of marginalisation and hate speech messages, and she has been called "the embarassement of Duke" who brings nothing but bad publicity to the university.

Knox has also been abandoned by some of her closest friends, who told her that she deserves "any terrible thing that comes my way."

Knox also asked the world to respect privacy, as she was not the one who brought her extra-curricular career to the public's attention.

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.
Belle Knox

"I vehemently want to have my privacy respected -- and I ask that anyone who knows my real name respect the fact that I am only discussing this publicly because it was made a public matter.

"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 even challenged readers of Xojane to ask their husbands, boyfriends brothers and sons if they have ever watched porn.

"Do they also deserve bad things and terrifying threats against their safety? No? Then look at the double standard you are employing," she said.