TEA Nominations 2017 – a few words.

One of the most difficult tasks of the year, is helping create the nominations for the coming Transgender Erotica Awards.    We gather 100’s of pre-nominations and then have to sort through them to verify them (some people insist on sending the same nomination dozens of times thinking we’re not going to realize that).    In making the nomination lists that go to the judges, we have to cut it down to a manageable amount.  Our TEA show is a celebration for trans erotica but it is also an awards show, and only the very best of that year should get nominated.

There are going to be people disappointed that they didn’t make nomination lists, perhaps they have in previous years – or perhaps they feel they are better qualified than some of the other nominees.   I always get hit a bunch of questions about the process after the nominees are announced,  I hope this year, that this post will answer many of those questions and help explain how we make the lists.

Every pre-nomination we get is considered, these are added to feedback from producers, owners and other social media.

Best Model Categories : It’s unlikely a model who has only appeared either in a small handful of scenes, or primarily on one site, or primarily only on her own site, will be nominated in Best Solo Model, Best Hardcore Model or Best New Model.    We’re looking for people with a wide range, and a wide following and who have been particularly relevant during 2016.   If you’ve mainly worked on your own site, or on only one venue then you can have your site and scenes nominated for those awards.  Best Non-TS Male/Female have less nominees so can be a little more flexible as can Best FTM (of which it seems short supply this year, so we’ve removed Best FTM Newcomer).  It’s very difficult to make the Best Solo and Best Hardcore categories.

Ms.Unique : someone who has shown great talent and presence but doesn’t always fit the mold of Best Model.  May appeal to a certain sub-section only, or just have their own appeal.  Unlike the Best Model categories, these may be models on one venue.

Best International East/West :  We’ve split the Best Non-US to two categories this year, East (Thailand, Philippines, Japan) and West (Europe, Canada, Mexico, S.America).   Models may be on this list as well as the other Best Model categories also.

Best Photographer/Scene Producer /Best Scene: we can only go on the information we have.  So if someone was pre-nominated, then we would have looked into into it.  Best Scene can be web or DVD – as there are so many of them and we can’t see them all, we ‘may’ take other suggestions after the nominations are announced in this category only.

Best DVD/Best DVD Director: we do allow studios to submit their Best DVD’s – and it’s unlikely we’d have a Best Director who didn’t have a DVD nomination.  We take fan votes and we create a credible list over a wide range of DVD types.

Best Social Media : we are looking for someone who has created a great presence on social media.  It can be funny, political, irrelevant or sexy … or all of those.

We do have other categories in Transcendence Award (somebody who represents the industry & themselves well),  Grooby Girl (Best Model chosen by Grooby members), ShemaleStrokers, BobsTgirls and Kink Awards,  Industry Award (someone from the broader Industry who supports the trans industry) and Lifetime Achievements – these are all chosen by Grooby and their partners.

Once all nominations are in, they go to a panel of judges.  The judges do not know who each other are until the show (so no collusion).  Judges are professional reviewers, producers, industry reps and fans.

Fan Choice Award :  This IS a voted award by the fans.  We do screen for spam, so be cool with it.  Watch this space.

Not nominated in the categories you wanted?  I sympathize.  Sincerely.  I’ve been in that position for industry awards and DVD nominations and I know how frustrating it can be.  We do spend a lot of time on making sure we get them as right as they can be.  Kristel, Alex, Dev, Mike, Dan and other staff go back and forth checking and double-checking – and we believe we generally get it right.  If you didn’t make the nominations this year, then I hope the explanation is above – if not you can still contact me – but remember, this IS a celebration weekend of what we all do.  Nominated, winners, fans, non-nominees etc.  come together for a one-of-a-kind in the world event.

Be positive and celebrate with us.