Tristan Taormino

Tristan Taormino

At the Feminist Porn Awards, Toronto, June 1, 2007
Born May 9, 1971
Syosset, NY
Occupation author, columnist, editor, director, sex educator
Literary movement sex-positive feminism
www.puckerup.com

Tristan Taormino (born May 9, 1971)[1] is a feminist author, columnist, sex educator, activist, editor, speaker, and pornographic film director (she also appeared in three films, two of which she directed, 1999–2000). She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with her Bachelor's degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University in 1993. Tristan Taormino is the niece of author Thomas Pynchon.[2]

Contents

Career

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

She has edited 23 anthologies and was series editor of 14 volumes of the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology Best Lesbian Erotica, an annual anthology published by Cleis Press, for which she has collaborated with 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 is a columnist for Taboo, and a former columnist for The Village Voice and Velvetpark. She is the former editor of On Our Backs, the nation's oldest lesbian-produced lesbian sex magazine.

Taormino has been featured in over 200 publications including The New York Times, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, Details, New York Magazine, Men's Health, and Playboy.

She has been named to several media lists, including Out magazine's 100 Gay Success Stories of the Year and The Advocate's Best and Brightest Gay & Lesbian People Under 30.

She teaches sex and relationship workshops around the world and lectures at top colleges and universities including Princeton, Yale, Brown, 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.[3] Some of her college appearances have stirred controversy, as at University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2004,[4] Princeton,[5] and, most famously, Oregon State University in 2011, where administrators un-invited her as keynote speaker at the Modern Sex Conference.[6] 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.[7]

She hosted the 2001 television show "Sexology 101" on The Burly Bear Network, a college cable network owned by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video.[8] She was a regular expert and panelist on Ricki Lake for two seasons in 2002 and 2003.[9] 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.[10][11] She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, HBO's Real Sex, NBC's The Other Half, The Howard Stern Show, Loveline, Ricki Lake, MTV, Oxygen Network, Fox News, The Discovery Channel, and on over 60 radio shows.

Taormino worked with Spike Lee as a script consultant and with the cast on the set of his 2004 movie "She Hate Me".[12] 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.

In addition to writing, speaking, and sex education, she considers herself a feminist pornographer.[13] 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. This film could be called a full-length "behind-the-scenes" movie. In 2006, she directed Tristan Taormino's Chemistry,[14] which is the first in a series of a full-length "behind the scenes" movies for Vivid Entertainment where the performers choose who they have sex with, what they do, where, and when.[15] She continues to direct the Chemistry series as well as sex education films for Vivid Ed, Vivid Entertainment's sex ed line that she was instrumental in creating.[16]

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." [17]

Taormino stated in an online interview, "I identify strongly as queer and as a dyke, because, as I have said before, it's not just about who I fuck and love, being queer is also about my politics, my culture, my community, and the way I see the world. People want to call me bisexual or pansexual or whatever, but I believe in people's power to self-identity."[18]

In addition, "she describes herself as 'equal opportunity.' She doesn't like the word 'bisexual' -- it's too polarizing."[19]

In addition to being a vocal advocate of nonmonogamy, 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."[20]

Bibliography

As Editor

Videos

References

  1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1070417/bio IMDB biography
  2. ^ "Thomas Pynchon", Cityfile, Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  3. ^ "Tristan Taormino Brings Honest Take on Sex to University". Daily Emerald. http://www.dailyemerald.com/news/tristan-taormino-brings-honest-take-on-sex-to-university-1.2002273. Retrieved 2011-03-13. 
  4. ^ "Tristan Taormino to return to UNCG". The Carolinian. http://www.carolinianonline.com/2.7350/tristan-taormino-to-return-to-uncg-1.1032871. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Taormino speaks about feminist pornography". The Daily Princetonian. http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/04/30/26064/. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  6. ^ "OSU vs. Sex". Portland Mercury. http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/no-taxpayer-funds-for-self-described-pornographers/Content?oid=3299667. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  7. ^ "Why Good Porn Matters: Tristan Taormino, Oregon State University, and Sexual Empowerment". LGBT POV. http://www.lgbtpov.com/2011/01/keiko-lane-why-good-porn-matters-tristan-taormino-oregon-state-university-and-sexual-empowerment/. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  8. ^ "Burly Bear Comes Out of Hiberation (2001)". AllBusiness.com. http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services-miscellaneous-business/4747955-1.html. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  9. ^ "Ricki Lake: Cast and Details". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/ricki-lake/cast/204046. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  10. ^ "IMDB Entry: The Naughty Show". IMDB.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043515/. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  11. ^ "Interview with Tristan Taormino". Girlphoria. http://www.girlphoria.com/wie/tristan-taormino.htm. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  12. ^ He Don't Hate Me: Spike Lee Interview. The Advocate. http://books.google.com/books?id=CWUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=spike+lee+in+the+advocate+don%27t+hate+me&source=bl&ots=5uNCofq7_n&sig=KoXO4NCR4Csei2gQx8f-oLaOppg&hl=en&ei=bLB_Ten6I4GcgQeWkqCOCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=spike%20lee%20in%20the%20advocate%20don%27t%20hate%20me&f=false. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  13. ^ "The Feministing Five: Tristan Taormino". Feministing. http://feministing.com/2011/01/08/the-feministing-five-tristan-taormino/. Retrieved 2011-08-01. 
  14. ^ Information on Chemistry from adultfilmdatabase.com, Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  15. ^ "Conversation with Tristan Taormino". Sex in the Public Square. http://sexinthepublicsquare.org/ElizabethsBlog/conversation-with-tristan-taormino. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
  16. ^ "PuckerUp Exclusive: Tristan talks about her identity", PuckerUp
  17. ^ "Tristan Taormino, Sex Educator", Gothamist, August 19, 2004. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  18. ^ "Sex Advice for a New Generation", Cincinnati's CityBeat, Wednesday, May 10, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  19. ^ "'Sex is the easy part!' – Interview with Tristan Taormino, open relationships expert", Lesbilicious, July 10, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2010.

External links