LOS ANGELES — XBIZ is pleased to announce the categories for the first-ever virtual edition of the 2021 XBIZ Awards, the adult industry’s biggest night, presented by MyFreeCams, which include several key changes for a new level of inclusivity in recognition of excellence. Pre-nominations open today and close midnight on Wednesday, September 30.
Back in 2018, within Movies & Production, XBIZ dropped ethnic-based categories — a long overdue change — ushering a move away from fetishization of race. Since then, titles and scenes of all kinds have been up for consideration in broader genres (award categories) that don’t emphasize body types, body parts, specific sex acts or age range.
This year, XBIZ elevates representation with the following changes...
Whereas each "Performer of the Year” category — Female, Male, Girl/Girl, MILF, Gay and Trans — represents the pinnacle of adult stardom within separate markets, a new all-inclusive “Performer of the Year” category will now honor outstanding performances regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation or age.
Also shifting to all-inclusive for the 2021 XBIZ Awards are the “Cam Model of the Year” and “Clip Artist of the Year” categories, as well as the newly introduced “Premium Social Media Star of the Year.”
Among other key changes, “Best New Starlet” and “Best Male Newcomer” have been merged into “Best New Performer,” while “Best Actor” and “Best Actress,” as well as “Best Supporting Actor” and “Best Supporting Actress,” have now been unified into “Best Acting – Lead” and “Best Acting – Supporting,” respectively.
Also, due to a significant drop in studio-produced titles as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Director of the Year” is now a single category (previously it was split into Body of Work, Feature and Non-Feature), while subgenre categories such as “Comedy” and “Taboo-Themed” have been removed, with such performances and titles now eligible for broader categories.
There have also been several additions in recognition of the primarily digital nature of the industry and emerging partnerships between studios, paysites and talent. New categories include “Best Sex Scene — Web” and “Web Series/Title of the Year,” to recognize premium paysite content “packaged” as a single movie title or themed series, as well as “Talent-Produced Series of the Year” and “Best Sex Scene — Talent-Produced” for content self-produced by talent, then sold or licensed to a paysite or studio. And two new “Best Sex Scene” categories have been added for performances in Gay and Trans movies.
And finally, in consideration of the expansion of XBIZ award programs in recent years, from the introduction of the XBIZ Cam Awards in 2017 to the XBIZ Europa Awards in 2018, the overall number of categories for the 2021 XBIZ Awards have been trimmed to ensure each event’s categories recognize a unique scope of work.
To submit pre-noms, industry professionals must be registered members of XBIZ.net and use the online submission form to record their entries.
The deadline for pre-nomination entries is midnight (PDT) on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
To be eligible for nomination, movies and pleasure products must be released between Oct. 1, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020.
Links to digital content, marketing material and/or login information must be provided via the pre-nom submission form.
The 19th annual XBIZ Awards will coincide with the first-ever virtual edition of the annual XBIZ Show, the biggest industry event of the year, which will link up the international community for boundless business opportunities.
Stay tuned to XBIZ.com for further announcements about the 2021 XBIZ Awards show.
Here is the complete list of 2021 XBIZ Awards categories:
MOVIES & PRODUCTION
- Feature Movie of the Year
- Erotic-Themed Movie of the Year
- Vignette Movie of the Year
- Vignette Series of the Year
- Gonzo Movie of the Year
- Gonzo Series of the Year
- All-Girl Movie of the Year
- All-Girl Series of the Year
- Web Series/Title of the Year
- Talent-Produced Series of the Year
- Gay Movie of the Year
- Trans Movie of the Year
- Foreign Movie of the Year
- Specialty Release of the Year
- Director of the Year
- Director of the Year – Gay
- Director of the Year – Trans
- Performer of the Year
- Female Performer of the Year
- Male Performer of the Year
- Girl/Girl Performer of the Year
- MILF Performer of the Year
- Gay Performer of the Year
- Trans Performer of the Year
- Best New Performer
- Best Acting – Lead
- Best Acting – Supporting
- Best Sex Scene – Feature Movie
- Best Sex Scene – Erotic-Themed
- Best Sex Scene – Vignette
- Best Sex Scene – Gonzo
- Best Sex Scene – All-Girl
- Best Sex Scene – Web
- Best Sex Scene – Talent-Produced
- Best Sex Scene – Gay
- Best Sex Scene – Trans
- Best Sex Scene – Virtual Reality
- Best Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Editing
- Best Art Direction
- Best Music
- Best New Studio Brand
WEB & TECHNOLOGY
- Affiliate Network of the Year
- Paysite Affiliate Program of the Year
- Specialty Affiliate Program of the Year
- Cam Affiliate Program of the Year
- Cam Company of the Year
- Clip Company of the Year
- Dating Company of the Year
- Payment Services Company of the Year — IPSP
- Payment Services Company of the Year — Merchant Services
- Payment Services Company of the Year — Alternative
- VOD Company of the Year
- Traffic Services Company of the Year
- Web Services Company of the Year
- Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Cam Studio of the Year
- Cam Model of the Year
- Clip Artist of the Year
- Premium Social Media Star of the Year
- Cam Site of the Year – Premium
- Cam Site of the Year – Freemium
- Gay Cam Site of the Year
- Clip Site of the Year
- Paysite of the Year
- Best New Paysite
- VOD Site of the Year
- Erotic Site of the Year
- Female-Produced Site of the Year
- All-Girl Site of the Year
- Gay Site of the Year
- Trans Site of the Year
- Virtual Reality Site of the Year
PLEASURE PRODUCTS
- Pleasure Products Company of the Year — Full Range
- Pleasure Products Company of the Year — Sex Toys
- Luxury Pleasure Product Line of the Year
- Luxury Brand of the Year
- Sex Toy of the Year — Powered (Vibrating)
- Sex Toy of the Year — Powered (Non-Vibrating)
- Sex Toy of the Year — Non-Powered
- Couples Toy of the Year
- Innovative Sex Toy of the Year
- Pleasure Product of the Year — Gay
- LGBTQ+ Pleasure Product of the Year
- Fetish Line of the Year
- BDSM Pleasure Products Company of the Year
- Adult Game of the Year
- Excellence in Product Packaging
- Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Lingerie Company of the Year
- Sexual Health & Wellness Brand of the Year
- Sex Enhancement Product of the Year
- Sex Lubricant of the Year
- Sex Lubricant Company of the Year
- Sensual Bath & Body Product of the Year
- Condom Manufacturer of the Year
- International Pleasure Products Company of the Year
- Progressive Pleasure Products Company of the Year
- Boutique Pleasure Products Company of the Year
- New Pleasure Products Company of the Year
- Sexpert of the Year
RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
- Retailer of the Year — Chain
- Retailer of the Year — Boutique
- Online Retailer of the Year — Full Range
- Online Retailer of the Year — Pleasure Products
- Retail Education/Training Program of the Year
- Home Party Company of the Year
- Distributor of the Year — Pleasure Products
- Progressive Distributor of the Year
- International Retailer of the Year
- International Distributor of the Year
