Noted Gender & Sexualities Sociologist Writes About the Challenges Men Face When Performing

LOS ANGELES (August 21, 2014) – In a new article for MensHealth.com, sociologist Chauntelle Tibbals, Ph.D. takes readers inside the world of adult entertainment and deconstructs the myths surrounding men porn stars. It may seem a life of glitz, glamour, and fortune, but the reality is full of challenges – “No one pays attention to the guys in porn,” begins the article.

Having conducted extensive research on the adult industry and its effects on society, Dr. Chauntelle takes a unique look at the role men performers have in the business of porn, as well as their decidedly secondary status to women performers.

“No one pays attention to the guys in porn,” begins the article. “There are exceptions. 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.”

The truth revealed in the article is men performers will always play second fiddle to the female talent regardless of their experience or ability to perform well in front of the camera. In her article, Dr. Chauntelle shows this firsthand as she visits a porn set and watches a scene with a veteran porn actor who was paid a fraction of the pay his co-star, a newcomer named “Ginger,” received.

“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 a long resume and vast experience, the male performer was faced with lower pay and the possibility of giving producers a discount if unable to “complete” the scene as needed.
With the pressures to perform, stay fit, and look good on camera, men stars remain generally nameless, unsung, and at times, completely 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 at MensHealth .com, click here.

A recognized adult industry expert and noted sociologist, Dr. Chauntelle recently appeared on the popular DrunkCastLive, which features top actors, directors, musicians and pop culture experts. She was also interviewed on MindBrowse.comwhere she led an interactive discussion titled “Women in Porn: Shattering the Myths.” The event featured prominent women from adult entertainment, including Penthouse’s Managing Director Kelly Holland and adult star Ashley Fires, alongside other panelists with variable stances on adult entertainment. Moreover, she was recently featured in the newest edition of The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology

Known for her extensive research into the adult industry, Dr. Chauntelle has become a leading authority into 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 containing observations, encounters, and anecdotes, much like the one featured on MensHealth.com, later in 2014. The book is titled, You Study What?

About Dr. Chauntelle:

Sociologist Chauntelle Tibbals, Ph.D. studies human interaction in and with society, making sense of the patterns and processes she sees occurring in social behavior. Dr. Chauntelle’s scholarly focus includes studies in gender, sexualities, work & organizations, media & new media, popular culture, and qualitative research methods. Her research over the past decade has centered on an extremely varied and volatile topic: the socio-cultural significance of adult content and adult content production. Through understanding both the scholarly/theoretical and real-world sides of the adult entertainment business, her work sheds a fresh critical light on a very influential and highly stigmatized component of our contemporary culture.

Dr. Tibbals’ research has been published in numerous scholarly journals including Sexualities, Gender Work & Organization, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, and Stanford Law and Policy Review and is featured in W.W. Norton’s The Real World (4th ed, 2014). She is quoted and cited extensively by cultural and news media outlets including CNN, NBC News, Business Insider, ABC-Univision, BloombergTV, Huffington Post, Jezebel, Slate, Time Magazine, and KPCC (NPR).

For more information, visit her official website, http://ChauntelleTibbals.com, or follow her on Twitter athttp://Twitter.com/DrChauntelle, and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/DrChauntelle.