Chauntelle Tibbals - Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment

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. Chauntelles 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. Chauntelles 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 storytellers voice and a sociologists 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 womens souls, or simply because theyre titillated by the idea of getting close to people who have sex for a living. But then theres Dr. Chauntelle, a genuine researcher who isnt 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 madeand living withdifficult decisions. She approaches her subjects as people whove made decisions rather than people whove spun around to find something has happened to them, and thats the great difference in Dr. Chauntelles work.

Gram Ponante, Editor of Porn Valley Observed and Gamelinks 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. Its 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. Chauntelles vivid and incisive account of being an outsider looking in on the porn world will change the way you think about the sex industry. Its sharply written and occasionally hilarious, but its also a sobering reflection on a stigmatized yet rapidly changing industry. For anyone with a passing interest in pornand lets be honest, we all have more than a passing interest in pornthis 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 Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University

If 50 Shades of Grey, Mark Twain, Larry Flynt, and Stephen Hawking had a baby, she wouldve 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. Shes a true innovator, having carved her own unique lane of study, point of view, and service to the world. Shes 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, its refreshing to see our world examined by a trained professional who didnt come here with preconceived notions of the people who inhabit it. Dr. Chauntelles 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 determinationthe product of which youre 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 Hartleys Guide to Total Sex

Whether youre already a fan of adult entertainment, curious about its inner workings, or just looking for an inspirational story of one womans endeavor to bring social justice to a marginalized part of society, Dr. Chauntelles 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