Exposure
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Praise for Exposure
“Exposure invites readers through the backstory of one determined sociologist who proves herself an insightful instigator of new, informed feminist perspectives of the porn industry. A respected outsider-turned-insider, Dr. Chauntelle’s engaging story is a porn nerd jackpot that academia would be wise to add to its syllabus.”
—Jiz Lee, performer and editor of Coming Out Like a Porn Star
“Almost everything written about the pornography industry has come from outsiders, and much of that writing caricatures the enterprise. Exposure offers a unique and fresh view of the adult industry through Dr. Chauntelle’s unprecedented access to it. This is a groundbreaking book filled with insights into a previously hidden world.”
—Ronald Weitzer, PhD, George Washington University
“With a storyteller’s voice and a sociologist’s eye, Dr. Chauntelle takes readers on a romp behind the scenes of the US adult industry. Tales of her personal experiences in the commercial sex industry put a human face on a cultural landscape that is otherwise rife with stereotypes. This book is both a fly-on-the-wall account and an analytical peek behind the complex and sometimes harsh realities of a business where fantasy rules. Readers will come away from Exposure with a better understanding of an often misunderstood industry and a fresh perspective on the business of marketing and selling sex.”
—Dr. Kathryn Hausback Korgan, co-author of The State of Sex
“These days, there are many academics willing to try their hands at studying the adult porn industry. All too often they have hidden agendas of finding out the ‘real reason’ women are willing to have sex on camera, or perhaps to ‘save’ the women’s ‘souls,’ or simply because they’re titillated by the idea of getting close to people who have sex for a living. But then there’s Dr. Chauntelle, a genuine researcher who isn’t afraid to step through the doors of adult businesses, spend time on adult movie sets, and engage with the people who make this multi-billion-dollar industry run. Kudos to her for writing this extremely informative volume!”
—Mark Kernes, Senior Editor for Legal Affairs, AVN Media Network
“The porn industry distrusts interlopers just as much as it craves validating acceptance, or simple tolerance. Why? Because so many writers neglect the complexity behind the narcissism and ridiculousness that porn often embodies, going for a quick joke or quicker dismissal rather than sitting with the array of choices that make up a porn career. Dr. Chauntelle approaches porn with the respect it deserves, not shying from its flaws and giving its workers credit for having made—and living with—difficult decisions. She approaches her subjects as people who’ve made decisions rather than people who’ve spun around to find something has happened to them, and that’s the great difference in Dr. Chauntelle’s work.”
—Gram Ponante, Editor of Porn Valley Observed and Gamelink’s Naked Truth
“Some years ago, when I was writing a column for MSNBC and reporting my book, America Unzipped: The Search for Sex and Satisfaction, a source suggested I call a ‘very smart young woman in Texas’ who was studying the world of adult entertainment. In the years since, Dr. Chauntelle has never failed to impress me with her insight and honesty about a world many regard as the ragged, pop-culture stepchild best left in the attic.”
—Brian Alexander, author of America Unzipped: The Search for Sex and Satisfaction
“Dr. Chauntelle has written the first insightful book about the ‘real’ modern adult film industry and world of porn. It’s an unbiased and fair examination of the everyday work in porn without prejudices and perceptions. No one else has the combination of academic background and inside knowledge.”
—Karen Tynan, attorney at law and counsel to adult industry companies and performers
“Dr. Chauntelle’s vivid and incisive account of being an outsider looking in on the porn world will change the way you think about the sex industry. It’s sharply written and occasionally hilarious, but it’s also a sobering reflection on a stigmatized yet rapidly changing industry. For anyone with a passing interest in porn—and let’s be honest, we all have more than a passing interest in porn—this book is a must-read.”
—EJ Dickson, Lifestyle Editor, TheDailyDot
“Dr. Chauntelle is a wildly innovative public sociologist who turned her own alienation from mainstream academia into an insightful, funny, and smart account of doing research in the marginalized topic of porn. Exposure presents the true-to-life story of her own experiences researching the porn industry, providing a complex, rigorous, and honest look into the life of a researcher. She weaves a sociologically sound study of the porn industry with a down-to-earth approach, accessible to both academics and the general public interested in learning more about research practice and the porn industry.”
—Corinne Reczek, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University
“If 50 Shades of Grey, Mark Twain, Larry Flynt, and Stephen Hawking had a baby, she would’ve been named Chauntelle Tibbals. The good doctor has achieved laser-point accuracy as to how we think and interact when it comes to sex, intimacy, and social behavior. She’s a true innovator, having carved her own unique lane of study, point of view, and service to the world. She’s friendly, accessible, funny, and a brilliant scholar, with insights and skill sets that are both intriguing and highly necessary.”
—Chris Denson, host of the “Innovation Crush” podcast
“A humanizing, thoughtful look at the adult entertainment industry from someone who has spent more than a decade getting to know the people who work in it.”
—Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, New York Law School, and former president, American Civil Liberties Union
“Porn has become such a pervasive cultural force that it demands to be written about thoughtfully and seriously. Dr. Chauntelle is the sociologist doing just that.”
—Vince Mancini, FilmDrunk/UPROXX
“As a long-time member of the adult entertainment community, it’s refreshing to see our world examined by a trained professional who didn’t come here with preconceived notions of the people who inhabit it. Dr. Chauntelle’s honest investigation into the truth of our lives is a welcome change from the usual attitude of ‘Pornography: Threat or menace?’
That Dr. Chauntelle had to push back against her department and lost funding and support for wanting to study our world is, sadly, an all-too common story. That she persevered in the face of such fierce resistance is a testament to her vision, hard work, and determination—the product of which you’re holding in your hands.
Thank you, Dr. Chauntelle, for being a voice of reason and knowledge rising above the cacophony of bias, ignorance, fear, and mistrust that usually accompanies any discussion of the role of adult entertainment in wider society, as well as the lived experiences of those who work to bring it to life.
If you want to speak from understanding and not parrot media portrayals of porn, read this book!”
—Nina Hartley, award-winning adult entertainment actress and author of Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex
“Whether you’re already a fan of adult entertainment, curious about its inner workings, or just looking for an inspirational story of one woman’s endeavor to bring social justice to a marginalized part of society, Dr. Chauntelle’s Exposure will grab you with its charm and win you over with its heart.
Equal parts style and substance, this engaging, insightful, and refreshingly honest take on an often-polarizing industry is as entertaining as it is informative. Dr. Chauntelle brings a conversational style of writing to Exposure that makes for a breezy read that will have you feeling as if you’re sitting across from her at your local coffee shop.
Throu
gh her dedicated research, critical thinking, and a special knack for connecting with the personalities in her field of study, Dr. Chauntelle shines a spotlight on a largely misunderstood community and creates important work that will stand the test of time.”
—Dan Miller, Managing Editor, XBIZ
“Exposure is a humorous and compelling story of a modern woman looking to dispel the common narrative that modern-day pornography is an evil influence on the hearts and minds of our generation. Dr. Chauntelle incessantly pokes holes in the doctrine that most of us in America have grown up with: Sex is not to be enjoyed and sex for pleasure or entertainment is evil, sad, and a last resort for immoral people. Exposure shatters those notions.”
—Steven St. Croix, eleven-time AVN Award best actor winner
“Dr. Chauntelle brings a voice of expertise and legitimacy to an industry that rarely, if ever, gets the serious treatment it deserves. Her perspective, as a sociologist looking at the adult industry, will enlighten both the curious outsider and the longtime insider. Fighting through the discrimination of the academic community and puritanical myths about sex to become the leading voice of the realities of sexuality in the twenty-first century is a testament to her determination and abilities. I can only hope that her voice reaches more people so that we as a society may have a more informed discourse on sexuality and everything that goes along with it.”
—Nate Glass, founder and owner of Takedown Piracy
With the exception of Kim Airs (stated with permission), the names and identities of people and other entities (e.g., companies and websites) mentioned anecdotally in this book have been changed to protect their privacy. All names drawn from published or public materials (in content descriptions, on marketing materials, and so on) are true referents to actual individuals and/or their professional pseudonyms.
An abbreviated version of Chapter 14 appeared on MensHealth.com in August 2014.
Chapter 16 is an adaptation of portions of “When Law Moves Quicker Than Culture: Key Jurisprudential Regulations Shaping the US Adult Content Production Industry” in The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race and Social Justice 15 (2013).
Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press
Austin, Texas
www.gbgpress.com
Copyright ©2015 Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.
Distributed by Greenleaf Book Group
For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Greenleaf Book Group at PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709, 512.891.6100.
Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group and Kim Lance
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group and Kim Lance
Cover image by Roman Samokhin/iStock Collection/Thinkstock
Publisher’s Cataloging Publication Data is available.
ISBN: 978-1-62634-194-4
First Edition
Other Edition(s): Print ISBN: 978-1-62634-193-7
This book is dedicated to my family, both given and chosen.
Infinite thanks are also due to all those who have let me spy on them over the years.
Contents
PREFACE
FOREWORD BY THERESA FLYNT
INTRODUCTION: WORST. MEETING. EVER
1 How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get into (Studying) Porn?
2 Disco Dolls in Hot Skin
3 Watching Porn for Science
4 Working the Booth
5 The Thin Line Between Real and Fake
6 Average Joes and the Monster Cock
7 On Set
8 Academic Snubbery
9 The Slippery Slope of Subjectivity
10 “Tranny,” Queer, and Tales of Loaded Language
11 Pegging: The Oldest New Trick in the Book
12 Beyond Porn Funk
13 The Power of the P(orn Fans)
14 Being a Guy in Porn Is (Not) Hard
15 Match Mates
16 The Real Linda Lovelace (née Boreman, née Marchiano)
17 Sexuality Through the Ages
18 The Real Traci Elizabeth Lords
19 Stripper Dildo Lollipop Party
20 Coming Out Porno
AFTERWORD
AUTHOR’S NOTE
NOTES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Preface
THERE ARE MANY DIMENSIONS TO EXPOSURE: TO REVEAL something hidden, to lay something bare, to be influenced by something new. You, dear reader, are about to be exposed to one of the most significant subcultures shaping our modern world. You are about to look into a community that’s simultaneously influential and reviled, powerful and stigmatized—all through my eyes. Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment is my attempt to share only some of my hilarious, ridiculous, occasionally heartbreaking, often challenging, and always enlightening adventures as a sociologist embedded in the world of adult entertainment, or porn.
I began exploring this world in the early 2000s. From content production to occupational safety, from individual proclivities to the wider social implications of commercial sex work—if it has to do with porn, I’m in it. I love my work for many reasons, reasons that have everything to do with the amazing people I’ve met, the stereotypes I’ve helped shatter, and the opportunities I’ve been given for personal growth.
Over the years, my sociological endeavors have provided me with endless fun. I’ve had many fascinating encounters, research based and otherwise, and the day-to-day is never mundane. Consequently, these stories are also pretty fun—amusing dalliances and surprising tales from inside a mysterious business. But they’re also more than just that. The experiences in these chapters are stories from my daily life—lessons I’ve learned from things that have actually happened. They’re a significant part of my own evolution, both as a scholar and as a human being. All that, and they help further my work, too.
Like it or not, adult entertainment is a hugely influential component of our culture. It plays a part in shaping who we are as a society. And we as a society help shape it right back. Porn is informed by our sexual desires and dreams, often in ways that we’re uncomfortable with. That’s where I come in. Through my (mis)adventures, I hope you will discover new ways to think about porn and adult entertainment . . . and maybe even your own life.
It’s all entertaining and enjoyable, and—most important—it’s all a learning experience.
Foreword
BY THERESA FLYNT
Sexy, passionate, and erotic . . . or obscene, filthy, and immoral?
Depending on whether you are for or against it, these are words often used to describe the adult entertainment industry. The words cultural, significant, and educational are less common descriptions . . . until now. Thanks to Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals and other proponents, people are beginning to look at the adult industry as a key cultural component of our society. It’s a space that both reflects our world and comes from it. After all, as the Romans demonstrated in their regard for sexual expression, our forms of entertainment say a lot about our culture. Porn and erotic content are no different.
In Exposure, Chauntelle offers fascinating insight into the adult industry’s inner workings, from film sets to business operations. She offers readers the chance to explore a mysterious world through her eyes—the eyes of an informed, sex-positive, empowered woman. But as interesting as her accounts are, I found myself drawn even more to the plight she has endured in order to be taken seriously by another peer group—researchers and academics. Though criticized by scholars in the university system, Chauntelle persevered. Her work now helps to validate the importance of analyzing and understanding all outsiders—because all communities, even the marginalized ones, contribute to society overall. Exposure is a testament to this.
Chauntelle has made some waves to c
hallenge existing stereotypes and misconceptions about sex and adult entertainment. I am very familiar with and appreciative of her fight, not only for porn’s right to exist in our society but also for the recognition of its value and contributions. The study of adult entertainment helps us become more in tune with our own sexuality as we, at our core, are all sexual beings.
Introduction
WORST. MEETING. EVER.
IT WAS A MISTY-RAINY SPRING DAY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. Everything was warm and wet and blossom scented, and people were driving even worse than usual. The cityscape whipped past me, not really registering, as I forced myself to knuckle down and concentrate on the task at hand. Although it wasn’t my first time down this road, the pressure of this particular day had scrambled my general calm. My heart was racing, and my chest was heaving. My quads screamed, and my lungs burned as my ass bounced in time with every push forward. As I made what was nowhere near my last liquid-lightening left-hand turn through a busy intersection, I felt my back tire skid. I thought briefly about getting a helmet. For an instant, I rethought my flip-flops.
But my bike was my friend, and I wasn’t going to crash. I would make it to campus. I would make it to my meeting on time.
I was in my first year of a sociology PhD program at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). I had come into the program with a master’s degree, which I’d totally thought would make my life easier. Unfortunately, I was kinda wrong.
Because of credits I had earned elsewhere, I was a little further along in the program than most of the other students in my cohort—a fancy way of saying “people who start working on a degree at the same time as you.” Consequently, I was already under serious pressure from the person slated to be my advisor to come up with a dissertation research topic.
This whole dissertation research topic thing is a tricky business. At the very least, it’s something doctoral students end up basing five or so years of their life on. At the very most, it sets you on a lifelong, career-spanning course of study. And the entire project is guided and shaped and, ultimately, signed off on by one person—your advisor. It’s an awfully big commitment, but that’s just the way it was (and still is) and “the way it is” is what I had signed up for. The pressure I was experiencing was not unusual for this point in my academic development, save two teeny tiny little details: first, my advisor didn’t seem to like the direction I was going, because, second, the direction I was going was toward porn.