Female academics are few when it comes to writing and teaching about adult film. Linda Williams and Constance Penley come immediately to mind and now the name of Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals can be added to the list. In Exposure: A Sociologist’s Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment, Dr. Tibbals delves into the adult industry with a critical question: how should pornography be interpreted as part of our society and does its reality challenge our beliefs and expectations?
To put it another way, Tibbals points out that porn fights an unending battle against preconceived notions. Aren’t all porn girls and the business they represent just an extension of “what may stir fear or revulsion in one person may be the hottest thing ever to the next?” The author weaves a story of the all too often simplistic answer to that question. Using a personal example, she recounts dealing with her grad school adviser who swore to revulsion and discounted everything else, sidetracking Tibballs' research.
Dr. Tibbals presents her argument in an easy-to-read format with personal accounts that will seduce the most casual reader. Don’t be fooled by the writer's scholarly cap; Exposure is an extension of the author’s affable personality. Her approachable writing style sets aside academic syntax and complex explanations to bring everyone on board with her message.
Taking the reader to the industry’s major trade show in Las Vegas and to film sets in Porn Valley, Tibbals becomes a tour guide for a little-understood universe that can’t escape the myths that swirl about it. She comments on one of her creepiest volunteer tasks at the convention: keeping the "super fans" at bay during the signing times girls are obliged to fulfill. These fans “sincerely believed they knew their favorite performer, and one day she would be theirs, no matter what.” Tibbals ventures into the tough job men have performing on camera. It’s mental and failure gets around fast. One guy takes a reduced paycheck for his shortcoming and the author describes how everyone covers for him so the shoot can wrap up.
In discussing the cultural significance of porn, Tibballs devotes time to “pegging,” queer porn, and “Trannies” as an adult film genre. What’s more, there is something in the pages of Exposure for everybody be it on the business side of the industry (product piracy is huge . . . and where does the film music come from?) to the feminist interpretation of adult content. Traditional anti-porn feminism is referenced specifically looking at the government’s war on porn in the 1980s. Not to be missed is Tibbals discussion of Linda Lovelace and Traci Lords who became emblematic of porn as evil, though the stories (read: honesty) of both are suspect. Having said that, what enlivens Tibballs is her ability to look at both side of an issue. In this case, she supports Lovelace and Lords as self-assertive.
Best of all, Exposure is a personal Odyssey beginning with the author's graduate school through her current position as a writer, online host, and overall industry maven. That alone is worth the purchase price of Exposure.
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Putting a human face on adult film.
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2015
Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals examines the human side of the adult film industry. She does this not utilizing the usual cautionary narrative that is frequently adopted by others but rather as an exploration of society's view of the world of adult film as both loved by some but reviled by others. A collection of essays and analytical observations by a academic who is simultaneously an insider and an outsider. This is not a condemnation of the industry nor a glorification. It's a good and informative read for anyone interested in challenging preconceptions of the adult industry they may have been told to hate and fear, much in the same fashion the author has challenged herself throughout her still on going journey.
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2015
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Tony Scott
One for your collection
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 17, 2015
Josie S
Ideal for anyone interested in sociology, social justice and gender studies.
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on February 2, 2016
