Tristan Taormino

Tristan Taormino

Tristan Taormino at the 2013 CineKink awards

Tristan Taormino at the 2013 CineKink awards
Born (1971-05-09) May 9, 1971
Syosset, New York
Occupation Author, columnist, editor, director, sex educator
Literary movement Sex-positive feminism
Website
www.puckerup.com

Tristan Taormino (born May 9, 1971)[1] is an American feminist author, columnist, sex educator, activist, editor, speaker, radio host, and pornographic film director (she also appeared in three films, two of which she directed, 1999–2000).

Early life

Tristan Taormino is the only child of Judith Bennett Pynchon and William J. Taormino. On her mother's side of the family, Taormino is a descendant of William Pynchon, an early English-American settler, and the niece of author Thomas Pynchon.[2] Her parents divorced before Tristan turned two years old, when her father came out as gay. She was raised primarily by her mother on Long Island. She maintained a close relationship with her father Bill Taormino, who died of AIDS in 1995. Taormino attended Sayville High School on Long Island and was salutatorian of her graduating class. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University in 1993.

Career

Literature

Taormino is the author of seven books, including the Firecracker Book Award-winning The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women.

She has edited anthologies including the Lambda Literary Award-winning annual anthology series she created and edited from 1996–2009, Best Lesbian Erotica, published by Cleis Press, for which she has collaborated with the writers Heather Lewis, Jewelle Gomez, Jenifer Levin, Chrystos, Joan Nestle, Patrick Califia, Amber Hollibaugh, Cheryl Clarke, Michelle Tea, Eileen Myles, Ali Liebegott, Emma Donoghue, Felice Newman and Joan Larkin.

She was a regular columnist for The Village Voice from 1999–2008, where she wrote the bi-weekly sex column "Pucker Up."[3] In print, her column appeared opposite Dan Savage's column Savage Love. She popularized and re-defined the term "queer heterosexual," in her 1995 column "The Queer Heterosexual." She wrote: "In some cases, it's based on either one or both partners having non-traditional gender expressions...or they actively work against their assigned gender roles. Some queer heterosexuals are strongly aligned with queer community, culture, politics, and activism but happen to love and lust after people of a different gender. I also consider folks who embrace alternative models of sexuality and relationships (polyamory, non-monogamy, BDSM, cross-dressing) to be queer, since labeling them "straight," considering their lifestyle choices, seems inappropriate."[4] She was laid off from The Village Voice in 2008.[5] She has written "The Anal Advisor" column for Hustler's Taboo Magazine since 1999, and she is a former columnist for Velvetpark. She is the former editor of On Our Backs, the USA's oldest lesbian-produced lesbian sex magazine.

Education

Taormino teaches sex and relationship workshops around the world[6] and lectures at top colleges and universities including Princeton, Yale, Brown, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia, Cornell, University of Toronto, Wesleyan, Vassar, University of Oregon, Swarthmore and New York University, where she speaks on gay and lesbian issues, sexuality and gender, and feminism.[7] Some of her college appearances have stirred controversy, as at University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2004,[8] Princeton,[9] and, most famously, Oregon State University in 2011, where administrators un-invited her as keynote speaker at the Modern Sex Conference.[10] There was a huge uproar on the internet, and many accused OSU of anti-sex bias. The incident received national media attention. Eventually, students raised the funds and re-invited her themselves.[11]

Film and television

Taormino hosted the television show Sexology 101 on The Burly Bear Network in 2001, a college cable network owned by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video.[12] She was a regular expert and panelist on Ricki Lake for two seasons in 2002 and 2003.[13] In 2003, she signed a development deal with MTV Networks. She served as host and executive producer on the pilot for The Naughty Show, but the series was never picked up.[14][15] She has appeared as an expert on sex, relationships, feminism, pornography, non-monogamy, and GLBT issues on Melissa Harris-Perry, Joy Behar: Say Anything,[16] HBO's Real Sex, The Howard Stern Show, Ricki Lake, MTV, and other television shows.[17]

Taormino worked with Spike Lee as a script consultant and with the cast on the set of his 2004 movie She Hate Me.[18] In 2006, she appeared as a so-called "sextra" in John Cameron Mitchell's film, Shortbus, participating in an unsimulated orgy that was filmed for the movie. (Her presence is confirmed by the director on the DVD commentary.) She also appeared in Becky Goldberg's 2003 documentary Hot and Bothered: Feminist Pornography and in Mr. Angel, the documentary about Buck Angel (2013).[17]

Taormino holding a Feminist Porn Award for her work Chemistry (2007)

In addition to writing, speaking and sex education, she considers herself a feminist pornographer.[19] She made two videos based on her book The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. The first (1999) was co-directed by Buttman (John Stagliano) and Ernest Greene. The second (2001) was directed by Tristan herself. In both videos, she takes part in the on-screen sexual activities. Subsequently, she directed Tristan Taormino's House of Ass for Adam & Eve, which shows a number of "porn stars" (from famous to unknown) interacting without a script. In 2006, she directed Tristan Taormino's Chemistry,[20] which is the first in a series of full-length "behind the scenes" movies for Vivid Entertainment where the performers choose who they have sex with, what they do, where and when.[21] She directed four volumes of the Chemistry series as well as sex education films for Vivid Ed, Vivid Entertainment's sex education line that she was instrumental in creating.[22]

Sexual identity

Taormino says about her sexuality, "I don't really identify with the label 'bisexual', nor does it feel like it accurately describes me...I see myself as queer, since queer to me is not just about who I love or lust, but it's about my culture, my community, and my politics. The truth is, even if I were with a heterosexual guy, I'd be a queer dyke."[23][24] In addition, "she describes herself as 'equal opportunity'. She doesn't like the word 'bisexual' – it's too polarizing."[25]

In addition to being a vocal advocate of non-monogamy, Taormino supports gay marriage: "I support gay marriage being legalised in every state. I do however think it’s unfortunate that in some cases gay marriage opponents have used the issue against polyamory."[26]

Bibliography

As editor

Journal articles

Videos

Awards

Year Ceremony Result Award / Category Book / Film
2003 Lambda Literary Award Won Lesbian Erotica Best Lesbian Erotica 2003
2004 Lambda Literary Award Won Lesbian Erotica Best Lesbian Erotica 2004
2006 Feminist Porn Award Won n/a "House of Ass"
2007 AVN Award Won Best Gonzo Release[27] Chemistry
Feminist Porn Award Won Hottest Gonzo Sex Scene & Hottest Diverse Cast Chemistry
Adam Film World Award Won Best Couples Movie Chemistry
AVN Award Nominated Best Oral Sex Scene Chemistry
2008 Feminist Porn Award Won Smutty Schoolteacher of the Year Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Oral Sex 1 & 2
AVN Award Nominated Best Anal-Themed Release Scene Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Anal Sex
AVN Award Nominated Best Director, Non-Feature Chemistry 3
AVN Award Nominated Best Oral-Themed Release Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Oral Sex 1: Cunnilingus
2009 AVN Award Won Best Educational Release[28] Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Oral Sex 2: Fellatio
AVN Award Nominated Best Educational Release Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to the G-Spot
AVN Award Nominated Best Oral Sex Scene Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Oral Sex 2: Fellatio
AVN Award Nominated Best Gonzo Series Chemistry
2010 Feminist Porn Award Won The Trailblazer Award N/A
Feminist Porn Award Won Smutty Schoolteacher of the Year Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men
AVN Award Won Best Educational Release[29] Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Threesomes
AVN Award Nominated Best Educational Release Midori's Expert Guide to Sensual Bondage
AVN Award Nominated Best Educational Release Penny Flame's Expert Guide to Rough Sex
AVN Award Nominated Best Educational Release Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men
AVN Award Nominated Best Specialty Release, Other Genre Rough Sex
Feminist Porn Award Nominated n/a Rough Sex
Feminist Porn Award Nominated n/a Penny Flame's Expert Guide to Rough Sex
Feminist Porn Award Nominated n/a Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Threesomes
2011 Lambda Literary Award Won Lesbian Erotica Sometimes She Lets Me: Best Butch/Femme Erotica
NLA Samois Anthology Award Won Lesbian Erotica Sometimes She Lets Me: Best Butch/Femme Erotica
Feminist Porn Award Won Hottest BDSM Movie Rough Sex 2
AVN Award Won Best Educational Release[30] Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Advanced Fellatio
AVN Award Nominated Best Vignette Release Rough Sex 2
AVN Award Nominated Best Couples Sex Scene Rough Sex 2
AVN Award Nominated Most Outrageous Sex Scene Rough Sex 2
Feminist Porn Award Nominated n/a Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Female Orgasms
2012 Lambda Literary Award Won Transgender Fiction Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica
Feminist Porn Award Won Smutty Schoolteacher of the Year Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Advanced Anal Sex
AVN Award Nominated Best Educational Release[31] Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Advanced Anal Sex
AVN Award Nominated Best Educational Release Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Female Orgasms
AVN Award Nominated Best Group Sex Scene Rough Sex 3: Adrianna's Dangerous Mind
AVN Award Nominated Best Anal Sex Scene Rough Sex 3: Adrianna's Dangerous Mind
AVN Award Nominated Best Three-Way Sex Scene Rough Sex 3: Adrianna's Dangerous Mind
AVN Award Nominated Best Vignette Release Rough Sex 3: Adrianna's Dangerous Mind
AVN Award Nominated Best Director, Non-Feature Rough Sex 3: Adrianna's Dangerous Mind
2013 Feminist Porn Award Won Smutty Schoolteacher of the Year Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Pegging
AVN Award Nominated Best Educational Release[32] Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Pegging

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ IMDB biography
  2. ↑ "Thomas Pynchon", Cityfile, Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Tristan Taormino". Village Voice. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  4. ↑ The Queer Heterosexual, http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-05-06/columns/the-queer-heterosexual/, Retrieved July 12, 2013
  5. ↑ "Tristan Taormino Laid Off At Village Voice". Gawker.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  6. ↑ "Workshops," TristanTaormino.com, http://tristantaormino.com/workshops/, Retrieved July 12, 2013
  7. ↑ "Tristan Taormino Brings Honest Take on Sex to University". Daily Emerald. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "Tristan Taormino to return to UNCG". The Carolinian. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Taormino speaks about feminist pornography". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  10. ↑ "OSU vs. Sex". Portland Mercury. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Why Good Porn Matters: Tristan Taormino, Oregon State University, and Sexual Empowerment". LGBT POV. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Burly Bear Comes Out of Hiberation (2001)". AllBusiness.com. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Ricki Lake: Cast and Details". TV Guide. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  14. ↑ The Naughty Show at the Internet Movie Database
  15. ↑ "Interview with Tristan Taormino". Girlphoria. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  16. ↑ http://new.current.com/find?x=0&y=0&q=tristan+taormino
  17. 1 2 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1070417/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
  18. ↑ He Don't Hate Me: Spike Lee Interview. The Advocate. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  19. ↑ "The Feministing Five: Tristan Taormino". Feministing. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  20. ↑ Information on Chemistry from adultfilmdatabase.com, Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Conversation with Tristan Taormino". Sex in the Public Square. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
  22. ↑ "PuckerUp Exclusive: Tristan talks about her identity", PuckerUp
  23. ↑ "Tristan Taormino, Sex Educator", Gothamist, August 19, 2004. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Sex Advice for a New Generation", Cincinnati's CityBeat, May 10, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  25. ↑ "'Sex is the easy part!' – Interview with Tristan Taormino, open relationships expert", Lesbilicious, July 10, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  26. ↑ AVN Awards: Past Winners 2007, http://avnawards.avn.com/past/winners/2007, Retrieved July 12. 2013
  27. ↑ AVN Awards Past Winners: 2009, http://avnawards.avn.com/past/winners/200 9, Retrieved July 12. 2013
  28. ↑ AVN Awards Past Winners: 2010, http://avnawards.avn.com/past/winners/2010, Retrieved July 12. 2013
  29. ↑ AVN Awards Past Winners: 2011, http://avnawards.avn.com/past/winners/2011, Retrieved July 12. 2013
  30. ↑ AVN Awards 2012: The Nominees, http://business.avn.com/articles/video/AVN-Awards-2012-The-Nominees-456084.html, Retrieved July 12. 2013
  31. ↑ AVN Announces Nominees for the 2013 AVN Awards, http://business.avn.com/articles/video/AVN-Announces-Nominees-for-2013-AVN-Awards-496615.html, Retrieved July 12. 2013
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