Book Review: Expose Yourself to Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals

This review of Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals' new book ran in the July 2015 issue of AVN magazine. To see the digital edition, click here. Perhaps you’ve seen her byline in cyberspace, providing intellectual ballast to the hysterically over-the-top commentary that surrounds issues related to the adult industry. Whether it’s describing the friendship between Barrett Blade and Eric Masterson on Playboy.com or critiquing the movie Hot Girls Wanted for Uproxxx.com, Chauntelle Tibbals (or Dr. Chauntelle, as she’s known) offers a point of view that’s bolstered both by her bona fides as an academic sociologist—a master’s degree at California State University Northridge and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas—and her up-close observation of the adult industry. And this month, Tibbals (pictured here) has a new book out. Titled Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment, it is available in paperback and Kindle formats. In 20 succinct chapters, Tibbals traces her evolution as a scholar studying a reviled human pursuit, which in itself is of interest. Tibbals writes about her trials with faculty advisers and tribulations at professional events (for example, the chapter “Academic Snubbery”). But what will fascinate those in the adult industry even more is the mirror she holds up to it. In “Being a Guy in Porn Is (Not) Hard,” she writes sympathetically of a bad day in the life of a porn stud. And in “Working the Booth,” her description of a day in the trenches at a fan event will have porn stars nodding their heads in recognition. And in “The Thin Line Between Real and Fake,” she first considers breast implants and then moves on to a deeper conversation about “authenticity” in porn: “I struggle with this attribution—natural. It’s extremely widespread, but what does it mean? In the contemporary porn lexicon “natural” is simply code for “no boob jobs,” but I just can’t get over the fact that the lack of boob jobs is the only natural thing about the women performers in this film. From the settings, the lighting, and the oil and water being misted or poured over various body parts, to the fact that most of the women performers have tattoos, all of them have beautiful hair and makeup, and one has had fairly significant cosmetic dental work, everything is contrived. These things are all well and good, but they’re not natural. “And why does natural just mean no boob jobs? Why stop there? Why not rule out altered noses or lips, artificial nails, or tattoos? It really makes very little sense.” Because she’s an observer and not a participant, Tibbals can provide clear-eyed feedback that can help both porn producers and pleasure product manufacturers create goods that are appealing to a wider demographic. Particularly helpful is the chapter “Stripper Dildo Lollipop Party,” a description of her disappointment at what she found at an adult boutique when shopping for a bachelorette party. It’s a tough critique, but one that retailers would be wise to heed. She writes: “Putting it kindly, the store was definitely on the seedier end of the sex toy store spectrum. Less kindly, the entire place was a disaster. It was dirty and disorganized. The walls were jam-packed with product, but the store still felt empty because of the underutilized floor space in the middle. And in a particularly genius move, higher-end products were adjacent to harder toys.” Anyone in the industry who has yet to be introduced to Dr. Chauntelle will be happy to make her acquaintance here. And those who are familiar with the good doctor will be impressed by the breadth of the subjects covered in this collection. For a more meaty sample from Exposure, read the chapter excerpted in AVN magazine (see page 48): a timely discussion—given the topic of this month’s issue—on so-called “young-girl” porn. The author will read from the book this Thursday, July 16 at Hustler Hollwood on the Sunset Strip. Click here for details.