Nenna Joiner didn’t set out to be a feminist. The word feminism didn’t even entered the 37 year old female porn producer’s lexicon until last year.

“I’m a young black woman, and in certain communities those words don’t come up,” said Joiner, who hails from Oakland, California, but was raised in Vegas.

Oakland has some of the highest rates of sexual assault in California, and Vegas is Vegas — neither city is known for their progressive idea of feminism.

Despite being admittedly out of touch with the third wave, Joiner’s first two films have all the markings of a gynocentric film.

Good For Her, a Toronto-based sex shop, launched the Feminist Porn Awards in 2006 to showcase adult films that accurately represent women’s sexuality. Award-winners must either depict genuine female pleasure (which is largely absent from mainstream porn), challenge stereotypes, or a woman must have had a hand in the production of the film.

Joiner’s two films Tight Places: A Drop of Color, and Hella Brown: Real Sex and the City fulfill all three requirements, and they caught the eye of women at Good For Her. Tight Places won her an award in 2011, and she’s nominated for another this year with Hella Brown, which will be screened at this year’s Feminist Porn Awards April 18-20.

Although directing a female-positive film wasn’t a conscious choice for Joiner, making a racially diverse film was.

In her pre-producer days, Joiner couldn’t find a lot of films that featured people of colour, and the ones that did reused the same two or three performers. She realized the only way she’d see people from her community up on screen was if she produced the porn herself.

“I look for opportunities that other people aren’t filling and I create products that speak to those gaps that I see,” she said.

While on her way to becoming an accomplished producer, Joiner spotted another gap in her community (read: business opportunity). As the home of Good Vibrations, the Bay Area has no shortage of sex toys. But when Joiner perused the Good Vibes merchandise, she found few products made with people of colour in mind.

So last year, she opened up her own adult boutique Feelmore 510 on Telegraph Ave., which sells toys and DVDs to Joiner’s predominately African-American clientele.  She uses the space not just for retail, but also for workshops on business, personal empowerment and healthy sexuality. For Joiner, a healthy, empowered community means a stronger client base.

“That’s what you do with retail — that’s what I would like to do with retail,” she said. 

“Help them help themselves so they can buy.”

Joiner will discuss her work as a small business owner and producer following a screening of Hella Brown at the 2012 Feminist Porn Awards in Toronto.

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Next week’s Business of X-Rated: Elizabeth Hames reports from the Feminist Porn Awards.

Elizabeth Hames is on Twitter. Follow her @elizabethhames

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