Chauntelle Tibbals is a treasure trove of knowledge, wielding her academic bona fides in the field of sociology to promote sex-positivity and counter misguided mainstream media narratives.
She is also a force to be reckoned with, boasting numerous articles in high-profile publications and serious scholarly research into the nuances of the skin biz, ranging from issues of ongoing consent to elevating the voices of performers.
It is imperative that we hear from relevant and informed voices within the community from as wide a scope as possible, especially when talking about issues related to consent.
And, she’s cool as hell. As anyone who has crossed paths and matched wits with her can attest, Tibbals is incredibly down to earth, genuinely warm and very charming.
Her professional background is quite eclectic as well, teaching as a college professor, publishing her book “Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society and Adult Entertainment,” freelance writing for several outlets and running a boutique organization focused on creating solutions for business interactions with the public and consumers.
To hit the books with Tibbals, the Woman of the Month for April, XBIZ sat down with her for this interview.
XBIZ: Tell us about your mainstream professional and educational background.
Tibbals: Ah, the school run-down! I am a born and raised Los Angeles person, so I naturally went to UCLA for my undergrad (class of ’00). I went on to Cal State Northridge (CSUN) for an M.A. in Sociology, which I completed in ’03. I then decided to branch out a bit — geographically speaking — and moved to Austin to work on my PhD at the University of Texas, which I completed in 2010. After that, I returned to L.A. and did a research fellowship at USC.
In terms of mainstream professional, I worked as a professor for many years. I taught at Cal State Northridge in their Sociology Department, as well as at Southwestern University in Texas. I also worked as a freelance mainstream writer, doing my best to bring nuanced coverage of the adult industry community to outlets like Men’s Health, UPROXX, Mic and VICE/Broadly, among other spaces. Though I got to do some great work in those days, the mainstream media was and continues to be, by-and-large, very committed to sustaining particular narratives about the adult industry. It was an uphill battle that I ultimately had to step away from.
XBIZ: What first led you to delve into the adult industry?
Tibbals: Whoosh that is a long, but ultimately not-too-scintillating story. Growing up, I always kind of knew porn was a hometown endeavor, but I didn’t realize how truly local it was (especially back then) until I was at CSUN.
I was studying various aspects of feminist-based scholarly questions as I worked my way through my MA — gender, labor and the like. In a wildly abbreviated nutshell, I started to question the “feminist”/“scholarly” conclusions I was reading about porn strictly on the basis of the L.A. cityscape alone. There was no way the stuff I was reading could possibly be true. And the voices — it was as if current performers didn’t even exist! Insights from performers were almost completely absent from the then-existing scholarship, which itself was mediocre at best.
I had no contacts in or direct experience with the industry in those days, but I started poking around and asking questions. As soon as it dawned on me how little we as a wider society knew about porn, as well as how uncomfortable and angry discussions of porn made basically everyone, I knew I had found a space that was simultaneously compelling, powerful and wildly marginalized. I jumped in, in spite of considerable consequences — and here we are decades later!
XBIZ: Given your diverse array of scholarly pursuits and the like, what are your main revenue streams? How do you balance such a busy schedule overall?
Tibbals: On the “academic” side, I currently am a public scholar in my areas of expertise — which basically means endless pro bono work helping to educate the public on issues related to sex and labor in society.
Revenue speaking, I’m a working sociologist and run my own boutique organization that offers solutions for issues related to business interactions with the public and consumers. We do everything from market research design and execution to brand development and ghost writing for organizations in various industries. We help companies get their voices on-point in a progressive and inclusive manner, enact various forms of education initiatives within their own communities, and teach people how to use social media strategically and responsibly. There’s really so much.
I work all … the … time, so balance is often difficult. I’m super into physical fitness though, so I balance an intense work schedule out with an equally intense, multi-faceted exercise ... life. Me and three girlfriends actually won a decently gnarly Crossfit-adjacent (it was not Crossfit, that’s just the most familiar descriptor I can think of) event last November! Training for that sort of thing is a mandatory part of all my days, so that really helps balance me out. I also am mom to two rescue pitbulls, and they are the center of my world.
XBIZ: Discuss what new insights you’ve gleaned in the years following the publication of “Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society and Adult Entertainment,” which you released in 2015.
Tibbals: Aside from obvious emerging trends and significant business shifts in the industry that have occurred in recent years, sadly, the main thing I have observed since “Exposure” is the sustained social marginalization of the industry. In fact, in many ways, I’d say marginalization has intensified.
It is very popular currently in mainstream media to support sex work, sex positivity and occupational choices, and this is great — however, we do not see that progressive lip service translating into actual social change. Laws that have passed, policy changes and uneven enforcement of community guidelines on popular online platforms, and the absolute lack of improvement in terms of pre-existing discrimination from banking to billing, etc. indicates society has pushed porn specifically, and the sex industry in general, at an even further arm’s length.
We tend to gloss over this though because, you know, Cardi B! She is amazing, but her successes should not be seen as a metric for former sex workers everywhere, not even close. The world feels more precarious to me since “Exposure,” not less so.
XBIZ: You’ve examined numerous porn trends ranging from the rise of “fauxcest” to Big Data-driven content creation. What have been the most surprising discoveries in your various research endeavors, that most defied your initial expectations?
Tibbals: Honestly, nothing surprises me about human behavior, least of all about human sex-related behavior. I am not sure anything ever did, though some things about porn surprised me in my earlier days as I was going through my own process of replacing mainstream lore with actual facts.
I guess I could say, though, that humanity’s endless need for connections and the ways in which, in spite of so much judgment, the industry finds ways to facilitate those connections continues to astound me. In spite of being more connected to people — or, potentially connected — than ever before, we as a society are probably the loneliest we’ve ever been.
Regardless of why, the industry seeks to alleviate that in some of the most creative and unique ways imaginable. I know it’s all business-related and whatnot, but we’d be remiss to forget the humanity that also informs this space. I continue to love the hell out of that.
XBIZ: For the 2019 XBIZ Awards, all ethnic-based categories were removed, not only to be more inclusive of such works in other award genres, but also to reflect the growing awareness (especially from talent on social media) of how such fetishizing can reinforce stereotypes, result in typecasting, etc. What are your thoughts on this complex and controversial issue?
Tibbals: Complex and controversial is putting it mildly. These sorts of categories most certainly reinforce stereotypes, result in typecasting and have myriad other effects that are, put simply, not good. But we also must remember that social interactions are synergistic. This includes everything from chatting with a friend to consuming a bit of media alone. Changes within the industry are a reflection of changes happening in wider society, as well as an artifact of changes happening within the community itself.
XBIZ: Given the rise of female directors to the fore of industry acclaim and influence, like twice-crowned XBIZ Director of the Year Bree Mills and 2019 XBIZ Feature Director of the Year Kayden Kross, how will this power dynamic impact content production behind the camera and in the public eye (or will it be business as usual)?
Tibbals: Again, I hate to be all gloom and doom, but women have been working at all levels in the adult industry for decades. It’s wonderful that the community has recognized more women with top honors in recent years, but that doesn’t mean that women haven’t been right there all along. Stormy Daniels started directing in 2004, Angie Rowntree in the ‘90s and Candida Royalle in the ‘80s!
There are many others, and that’s not even to mention women who have shaped contemporary porn even further behind the scenes — office workers, publicists, executives and more. Guess what? The public never cared before and, sadly, likely won’t care too much now. But that doesn’t mean that, as a community, the industry can’t strive to do better, be more supportive, and give recognition where it is deserved. If human social interaction is as synergistic as I believe that it is, then the industry’s evolutions and improvements will translate out into wider society — and once again, porn will help the rest of the world figure itself out!
XBIZ: You’ve moderated and organized several key panels on consent, from the 2016 “Consent in Porn” panel jointly produced by XBIZ and Sssh.com, to the Mindbrowse.com “Porn, Production & Consent” roundtable at the 2019 XBIZ Show. In that three-year timespan, how has the industry’s approach to consent evolved?
Tibbals: It is imperative that we hear from relevant and informed voices within the community from as wide a scope as possible, especially when talking about issues related to consent. I am super grateful that Sssh.com and Mindbrowse handle the production of those events, as I know nothing about that stuff, and leave me to do my best at trying to facilitate as nuanced a conversation as possible for each...
...because consent is incredibly important, both in wider social life and — in particular — in sex work and porn performance. I feel that considerations of consent, to varying degrees, have always shaped the adult industry. Sadly though, one thing the industry has never really been good at is maintaining a consistent, relatively predictable workplace for performers. To some degree, this is impossible. No workplace in any industry is fully predictable. In many ways though, porn is a black box. When civilians walk in as new performers, they are basically walking into the unknown. This is not good when thinking about preparing for a career in a stigmatized occupation.
Further, though there have been some efforts, which is great, there is no real process in place for resolving grievances, mitigating issues and sanctioning wrongdoing. Couple all this with the struggles we have with consent as social humans in general (consent outside the industry is far from perfect — in fact, in many ways, may be in worse shape than one might argue the industry has been), and we are faced with an overwhelming responsibility to make sure that people not only know the ins and outs of the industry, but also are aware of and supported in the fact that they can say yes or no to any of it, at any time.
XBIZ: Any major career plans or goals for this coming year?
Tibbals: I am actually working on two initiatives related to consent at the moment. Like everything in life though, time is the most significant factor. Who wants to come help me? I need you!
Find Chauntelle Tibbals on Twitter at @drchauntelle and via her site, chauntelletibbals.com.
Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
