Dirty Words: Interview with Porn Academic Chauntelle Tibbals, Hardcore Scholar

If you thought school was hard when you were a kid, now it's really hard. Ask Chauntelle Tibbals, who calls herself an "embedded public sociologist specializing in gender, sexualities, work and organizations, new media and popular culture." In layman's terms, her discipline is porn. She has been published in scholarly journals and publishes an ebook series called You Study What?, which is available on Amazon, here and here.

She graciously took some time off from watching hardcore pornography to speak with us about the subject she loves, why she's not putting her moneymaker where her mouth is and how the current state of sexual taboo informs what turns us on. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're finishing up our application to graduate school. Now we know why they call it higher education.

Peter Landau: The obvious question is why is a good girl like you doing studying pornography?

Chauntelle Tibbals: For so many reasons! It's interesting. It's part of the culture and community of Los Angeles, which raised me. And, most significantly, because of my bleeding heart. In so many ways, porn is the final remaining group that we as a culture think it's okay to discriminate against and talk about without ever talking to. That's not okay. The adult industry is responsible for so much of our cultural and historical development related to sexual expression, free speech, free enterprise and bodily autonomy. Porn is far from perfect, but it's worthy of the same respect and consideration we give every other segment of society.

PL: The less obvious question is are you such a good girl? Do you have a porn past, whether as player or observer?

CT: I don't, at least not as a player (though I have observed much over the years). I don't think that necessarily makes me a good girl though…

PL: Do your academic studies make you want to leave the ivory tower and get dirty in more of an experiential way with your subject?

CT: Well, yes in terms of leaving the ivory tower—there comes a point where the bubble of academia and university life become detrimental to making sense of society. How can you understand life if you're not out there in it? But in terms of getting more dirty and experimental, no. That's just not me. (Maybe I am a "good girl" haha.)

PL: What do you think of the blurring line between mainstream entertainment and pornography? Is it a good thing that popular culture is more accepting of sexually explicit materials or does it neuter the outlaw and therefore attractive nature of the business?

CT: I think it does a little bit of both. I think the outlaw, secret nature of the business is part of what draws many people to it, both in terms of the community and in terms of fans and consumers. But I also think that a little bit of normalization opens up new avenues for growth and opportunity.

However, I'm not entirely convinced mainstream entertainment and culture is really all that accepting, at least not on a deeper structural level. Though society may be getting more open about sexualities and, consequently, dimensions of adult, the fact remains that structurally our society is still very much anti-porn. CHASE bank (and others), Amazon wish-lists, PayPal, the state of California's constant need to entertain anti-porn legislation – these are all things that show a lack of acceptance on a deeper social-structural level.

PL: Do you have a particular type of pornography that you like?

CT: Ha! I do, but I'll never tell… I will say that the directorial team of Jacky St. James and Eddie Powell are currently creating some of the best content ever produced. And I really love the look and feel of anything Mason, regardless of who she's shooting for.

Jacky St. James at work

PL: David Aaron Clark, who used to review porn for Screw magazine, had a theory about what was popular in sex films, such as in the 1950s it was all blow jobs, for this was the forbidden fruit of the time, and by the 1990s anal was all the rage for the same reasons. Do you think he was right, is porn a window into the sexual psyche of a culture?

CT: Absolutely, 100%, no question in my mind—porn a window into the sexual psyche of a culture. Now, it's not the only window, nor do all types of porn reflect all types of sexualities. But the idea that porn is this one-way entity feeding arbitrary images and messages to society, which they then just uncritically pick up and adopt, is completely ludicrous. Porn and society interact synergistically, with society feeding content and content reflecting society's myriad desires.

PL: Where are we now in terms of taboos explored on screen?

CT: I think we're moving in a great direction in terms of taboos explored on screen—TS porn is taking its rightful place as a desirable genre, men are no longer these strict powerhouse pounders (think pegging all the way to new men performers), and queer porn (e.g., Pink & White Productions) is bringing new dimensions into the existing cornucopia.

I do think the divides between gay and straight are too rigid (absent the marketing aspects), and the censures hard BDSM still must deal with are troubling… but everything's a process, and that processes seems to be unfolding quite swimmingly. I can't wait to see where we are in five years.

PL: Porn has been described by some of the actors who make a living in it as fantasy writ large, and when you seen multiple penises in a vagina or anus, when performers are having sex in positions that appear to defy physics, this is all part of the allure, like going to a superhero movie. We're not looking for reality. But, like superhero movies, does this infantilize the audience or is it harmless play?

CT: I think it all depends on the audience. Some viewers are able to watch such acrobatics with a grain of salt—they get that it's a superhero movie. Others for example (inappropriately) watch porn for sex ed, which is an indicator of a whole slew of wider social ails.

There's no way to ever tell what a viewer is going to take from any text—from classic literature to heavy metal in the 1980s, people will find whatever they want to see in anything. As long as producers and performers are being true to their vision and honest about their boundaries and consent is always involved, I don't think we can worry too much about what one viewer may take from a text relative to another.

Mason Moore

PL: Finally, there must be something you've come across in your studies that completely bewildered you, what was it?

CT: Well, there are some types of content that I just don't get. Like, it's not my thing. But I think the most bewildering phenomenon I've come across in my studies is the lack of unity within the industry.

Every corner of the business, from production to novelty to that entire back-end world that people rarely even think about, is more alike that it is dissimilar (relative to the "outside" world). And yet we constantly see in fighting and competition, rather than efforts toward a united front. I think what the adult industry needs most is unity. Because the wider world doesn't really care what aspect of adult people work in—they hear porn, and it's all the same. Discomfort and resulting discrimination from the mainstream targets everyone. In that respect, we're all in the same gang.

Visit Chauntellet Tibbals online here.