Tibbals was born in Paramount, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, and grew up in and around the LA area.

[1] She was a visiting scholar in University of Southern California’s Department of Sociology during 2012–13.

[3] Her research over the past decade centers on the sociocultural significance of adult content and adult content production, including issues related to law, free speech, and workplace organizational structures.

Tibbals writes and speaks frequently about issues related to higher education, law, gender identity and expression, and sexualities.

[5] She is regularly asked to comment on sex, tech, and culture on mainstream media sites, including CNN,[6] NBC News,[7] NPR,[8] ABC-Univision,[9] Vice,[10] Al Jazeera,[11] Bloomberg TV,[12] and the Huffington Post.