Tristan Taormino
Career
A Wesleyan University graduate who wrote the Village Voice sex column "Pucker Up" opposite Dan Savage from 1999 to 2008, Taormino moved into directing with a video adaptation of her own book The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women in 1999, then created the Chemistry series for Vivid Entertainment from 2006 — an explicitly unscripted format in which performers chose who they had sex with, and where, without a director dictating the scene. The format won Chemistry both an AVN Best Gonzo Release and a Feminist Porn Award in the same year, plus Adam Film World’s Best Couples Movie. She went on to create Vivid Ed, Vivid’s sex-education imprint, winning three consecutive AVN Best Educational Release awards, and has authored eight books on sexuality alongside a decade editing the annual Best Lesbian Erotica anthology. She identifies as queer and has been a visible advocate for polyamory and non-monogamy.
Signature: The clearest bridge on this list between the couples-market feature and the feminist-porn movement: Chemistry won a mainstream AVN category and a Feminist Porn Award in the same year for the same film.
Index score — The Pornstar Ranked Performer Index v3.0
Scores are normalised within a single ranking's field, so this breakdown is Tristan Taormino's placement inside “Dirtiest Pornstars”: What the Gonzo Award Record Actually Shows — the largest field she appears in. Her rank on each of the other 4 rankings below was computed against that ranking's own field and is not the same measurement.
Full award record8 entries
- 2006Feminist Porn Awards — Award for House of Ass
- 2007Feminist Porn Awards — Hottest Gonzo Sex Scene / Hottest Diverse Cast — Chemistry
- 2010Feminist Porn Awards — The Trailblazer Award
- 2007AVN — Best Gonzo Release — Chemistry
- 2009AVN — Best Educational Release
- 2010AVN — Best Educational Release
- 2011AVN — Best Educational Release
- 2007Adam Film World — Best Couples Movie — Chemistry
Best known for
Studios
Beyond performing
- Creator and director, Vivid Ed
- Village Voice sex columnist, "Pucker Up" (1999–2008)
- Author of eight books, including Opening Up: Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships (2008)
Mainstream credits
- Regular expert, Ricki Lake (2002–2003)
- Real Sex (HBO)
- The Howard Stern Show
- Script consultant, Spike Lee’s She Hate Me (2004)
Official links
Appears in
Also ranked on
Ranked alongside
Sources and verification1 source
- Some AVN and Feminist Porn Award category names as reported may not match the ceremony’s exact printed title in every year
