Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals Deconstructs Myths of Male Porn Stars

LOS ANGELES—Here at AVN we always take note when a mainstream consumer mag puts in its two cents on the porn biz. In the case of an article dated today, MensHealth.com took the welcome step of getting commentary from someone who's actually been on an adult industry set.

Sciologist Chauntelle Tibbals—whose Ph.D. cred earns her the moniker Dr. Chauntelle in both adult and academia—is in the business of studying the adult industry and its effects on society, and sharing that reserach with her students and readers of her mainstream articles. In today's article on MensHealth.com, she discusses the myths surrounding men porn stars. Speaking to readers who may assume that these lucky guys enjoy a life of glamour, and fortune, she begins by writing, “No one pays attention to the guys in porn.”

“There are exceptions,” the article continues. “Gay porn has produced a hefty handful of stars over the decades, and there’s obviously the iconic Ron Jeremy. We also have the panty-dropping juggernaut James Deen ... but these examples are only a small fraction of the porno men who’ve come and gone.”

While this point made be new to readers of Men's Health, it will hardly surprise those who labor in adult—both men and women. But it's still intriguing to read about her visit to a porn set, where she watches a scene between a veteran male performer and a newbie.

“He was well-respected and well-represented, though with an unfortunate reputation for displaying a little too much bravado on occasion. But he had over ten years of performance experience and more than 500 scene credits to his name, working in everything from softcore, Skinemax-type features to the hardest of hardcore,” Dr. Chauntelle writes.

Even with his long résumé, she explains, the male performer was faced with lower pay and the possibility of giving producers a discount if unable to “complete” the scene as needed. And while they operate under the same pressures to stay fit, and look good on camera, men stars remain generally nameless, unsung, and sometimes anonymous.

“I’ve heard industry insiders—agents and people responsible for hiring—say there are anywhere from 30 to 50 guys working as porn performers at any given time. But this number is constantly in flux and doesn’t take into account the fringe guys, like the mopes who fill in a gangbang, whose faces you never really see,” states Dr. Chauntelle in the article.

To read the full article on MensHealth.com, click here.

The noted sociologist appeared on the popular DrunkCastLive, which features top actors, directors, musicians and pop culture experts. She was also interviewed on MindBrowse.com where she led an interactive discussion titled “Women in Porn: Shattering the Myths.” Moreover, she was recently featured in the newest edition of The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology
 
In academia, Dr. Chauntelle has become a voice addressing the impact, dynamics, and social relevance of adult content and the implications of laws targeting porn on free speech and society as a whole. Her work, published in academic journals, has examined workplace safety and autonomy within the adult industry, as well as the stigma experienced by women workers who are not performers due to their involvement in the industry.
 
Dr. Chauntelle will publish a collection of essays later in 2014. The book is titled, You Study What?