Fleshbot Crush ObjectTM of the Year: Stoya

One of the great testaments to the Audacity of Hope this year was that there was something inevitable about Stoya getting this award, and we like living in a world where that can happen.

"I'm lucky because I get to be me pretty much all the time," said Stoya from her home in Philadelphia, awaiting next week's trip to Las Vegas for the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. "I came into the job being the person on the edge of the envelope, and I'm not doing anything too much different from who I am anyway."

Within that envelope are Jesse Jane and Riley Steele, each abundant and delightful in her own way but also more the Heartland's idea of pornic perfection.

Digital Playground took a bet when hiring Stoya to a three-to-five-year contract. She doesn't look like Jesse Jane or even like Sophia Santi, formerly the most exotic performer in DP's roster. Instead, she appeals to people like you.

We didn't even ask what she thought her appeal was because we have so many ideas of our own; we didn't want to embarrass the 22-year-old right out of her hoodie dress (well, we didn't want to achieve that by embarrassing her).

But she did offer some clues to the Ineffable. "You'll notice that it boils down to Science," she said. "Symmetrical features, and either you've got the baby-feeding boobs or the child-bearing hips; a cushiony ass."

Oh, Stoya. It couldn't be just that. She cuts the busk of her corsets with her own shears? She is most looking forward to reading "Ender in Exile" on her trip to Vegas? She counsels overzealous fans that she smells when she doesn't wash, too? She admits that her transition from cult porn fame to mainstream porn fame has been "ridiculously weird"?

We kind of know why we have a crush on you, Stoya, even if you don't, and maybe it's best that we keep it ambiguous. We shan't mention it again. But that warm feeling you get like when the Formics are defeated in the Bugger Wars? Well that feeling is us, Stoya. In your cushiony ass.

· Stoya (stoyaxxx.com)
· Digital Playground (digitalplayground.com)