The Transgender Erotica Awards (The TEAs) was originally conceived in 2007 and started solely as an online-only competition voted by a panel of industry judges. It was originally named the Tranny Awards and were only a handful of categories and Grooby sponsored all of the cash prizes.

As interest grew, it was expanded into an actual event and hosted at a several different nightlife venues in the Los Angeles area, before moving to a full-scale theater in Glendale. The event now has over twenty categories, including special awards sponsored by other industry companies, many of which include donated cash prizes.