By Peter Berton

LOS ANGELES – Would you donate $10,000 to get naked with a Penthouse Pet? Chanel Preston hopes her fans will. That’s why she has taken the crowd-sourcing route to raise $10,000 for a new web series, Naked with Chanel.

The project is not meant to raise libidos. Instead, Preston hopes to raise awareness of what she calls a major epidemic.

“We are not comfortable with sex,” she said. “America has one of the highest rates of [sexually transmitted diseases], teen pregnancy, sexual violence and divorce out of all industrialized nations, and sexual repression is a large contributor to these problems. It is imperative that we change our attitudes about sex.”

By the morning of Dec. 13, Preston’s Indiegogo campaign had attracted a little more than $2,300 in funding pledges. Can she meet her goal before the clock runs out at 11:59 p.m. PT on Dec. 26? Her answer: a resounding yes.

YNOT.com spoke with Preston about American sexual hangups and what she plans to do to fix a broken society.

YNOT: Give us a crash course in the philosophy behind the project.

Chanel Preston: Naked with Chanel is all about helping shed negative attitudes and/or misguided beliefs about sex. The webisode series will address social and sexual issues in America and help people think differently about these issues in order to help them think differently about sex.

There will also be blogs, and I’ll address current events involving sex where people can comment and discuss with others about the subject. It’s really meant to help others feel comfortable with sexuality and expose America’s negative relationship with sex and how it hurts us.

Why is this so important to you?

I think we need a different perspective on sexuality in America. We really have to stop fearing what learning about sex might do to us. Sexuality is part of who we are, and if we are not given the freedom to express that it leads to personal issues and societal issues.

Currently, we live in an incredibly hyper-sexualized society, yet we are still very repressed when it comes to sexuality. This dichotomy is very confusing and causes people to have skewed ideas about what sexuality is.

I think people are ready to think differently about sex, and I want to be there to help them do that.

Why go the Indiegogo route?

A few friends of mine have used crowd-sourcing for projects of theirs and had a lot of success. It was a new idea to me, and I was really curious about how it would work out.

I think my fans really enjoy being involved in the project this way, and I am so appreciative of that. It also is giving me an opportunity to spread the word about the site before it has actually launched and give everyone something to look forward to.

Who are you trying to reach as contributors?

I have reached out to fans, of course, and people who are close to me. However, I want to reach other sex-positive individuals who work toward helping others have healthy sexual attitudes.

I am really excited to be a part of the sex education industry. I have been in the adult entertainment world for four years, and I can’t wait to branch out and share with others what I have learned.

How is the project going so far?

Great! There have been those who are close to me, as well as fans, who have given me a lot of support and contributed. With every contribution, it means someone believes in the project and that means a lot to me.

You clearly have a much broader view of your career than just “porn star.” What are your career goals, and where will you be in 10 years?

I love the sex industry, and I am really proud of what I have done with my porn career, but I definitely don’t see myself performing in years to come. I’m getting old — I can’t be getting gang-banged forever.

I don’t have specific career goals, but in 10 years I’d like to look back and see that I really made a difference in how people think about sex.

How much money would someone have to put up to literally get naked with Chanel?

[Hearty laugh.] Well, I can’t really put a price on that. But I will say it doesn’t always take money to get me naked.