The X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) is a group of writers and editors from the American

adult entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

industry who each year present awards in recognition of achievement within the industry. After the controversy and criticism of the Best Erotic Scene win for the movie ''Virginia'' in 1984 at the

Adult Film Association of America The Adult Film Association of America (AFAA) was the first American association of pornographic film producers. It fought against censorship laws, attempted to defend the industry against prosecution for obscenity, and held an annual adult film ...

awards, the XRCO and its "Heart-On Awards" were founded.

Robert Rimmer Robert Henry Rimmer (March 14, 1917 – August 1, 2001) was an American writer who authored several books, most notably ''The Harrad Experiment'', which was made into a film in 1973. The recurring theme in almost all of Rimmer's writing w ...

, ''The X-Rated Videotape Guide'', Prometheus Books, 1993.

History

The organization was founded in 1984, consisting of writers from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Jim Holliday Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...

AVN Award The AVN Awards are List of movie awards, film awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine ''AVN (magazine), AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') to recognize achievement in various aspects of the creation and m ...

-winning producer and historian, is considered the founding father of the X-Rated Critics Organization. After Holliday's death, the position of XRCO Historian was temporarily filled by XRCO founding member

Bill Margold William Margold (October 2, 1943 – January 17, 2017) was an American pornographic film actor and porn film director. Known as Bill Margold, he was a former director of the Free Speech Coalition and was a co-founder of X-Rated Critics Organiz ...

until 2006.

James Avalon James Avalon is an American adult film director, cinematographer, editor, writer, and producer. His aliases include Kunga Sludge, Mondo Tundra and Monty Tundra. Career James entered the adult film industry in 1979 as a journalist and became ...

, a former editor of ''

Adam Film World ''Adam Film World'' (''AFW'') and ''Adam Film World Guide'' (''AFWG'') were American magazines about pornographic film, starting in 1966 as ''The Adam Film Quarterly.'' History Knight Publishing Corp. had launched ''Adam'' magazine in 1956 as a ...

''’s special editions, was also a founding member of XRCO. XRCO's original Chairman, Jared Rutter, stepped down in 2004 and is now recognized as an "Honorary Chairman". The current co-Chairmen are "Dirty Bob" Krotts and

Dick Freeman Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

Members and management

In 2005, XRCO added its first European members. Its members now include writers from a wide range of adult publications and Internet sites. Many members work full-time at this occupation; some have university degrees with emphasis on Film Criticism. XRCO members remain active members after being evaluated yearly to determine if they are still active in the adult business, still qualified, and still participating in the

XRCO Award The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organization annually to people working in adult entertainment and it is the only adult industry awards show reserved exclusively for industry members. Once every calendar year, XRCO ...

nomination and voting processes. Anyone not participating is placed on an "inactive" list for one year and, if found to still be lacking and not participating after that time, are then dropped. There is no membership fee to be an XRCO member. There are currently 27 award categories, including the

XRCO Hall of Fame The XRCO Hall of Fame lists well-known adult entertainment works and workers. The list is managed by X-Rated Critics Organization and inducted annually during the XRCO Award The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organizat ...

, which honor the achievements of performers,

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and movies.

Award program

The first

s were presented in Hollywood on February 14, 1985.XRCO
home page Until 1991, the awards were presented on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

each year. The award program also includes a

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

ceremony and inductions.

References

External links

* * * {{cite web, url=http://business.avn.com/articles/video/XRCO-2006-Nominations-Announced-30233.html , date=March 2, 2007, title=XRCO 2006 Nominations Announced, quote=23rd Annual, first=Bob, last=Krotts, author-link=Dirty Bob Sex industry in the United States Organizations established in 1984 Organizations based in Los Angeles County, California