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Jul 31, 2023

Aphrodisia Boutique sex shop opens on Bay Street in Port Orchard

PORT ORCHARD — Half an hour after Aphrodisia Boutique opened on Bay Street, the new locally-owned sex shop was packed. Fifteen people roamed the store, checking the body-safe sex toys and

PORT ORCHARD — Half an hour after Aphrodisia Boutique opened on Bay Street, the new locally-owned sex shop was packed.

Fifteen people roamed the store, checking the body-safe sex toys and gender-affirming products, as well as some best-selling books related to intimacy and relationships.

A Bremerton couple who identify as queers and with they/them pronouns, Fox Grocutt, 37, and Daniel Baron, 37, opened the shop on Aug. 18. Moving to Bremerton four years ago, Grocutt, from the UK, and Baron, from Arizona, were dissatisfied with analogous shops in the region, concerned that those stores often sell pornography that commodifies female bodies, do heavily gendered advertising, or offer unsafe products, they said.

The couple was inspired to start a new store that sold inclusive and safe sex toys or tools as they listened to Jenn Mason, owner of WinkWink, an identity-inclusive sex shop in downtown Bellingham, talking about her store on a podcast. There should be something better in Kitsap, they thought, so they created Aphrodisia Boutiques.

The boutique's mission is to make pleasure safe, inclusive and shame-free, they said.

"One thing that we're trying to do is create a place where people can come and shop with peace of mind that everything they're buying is safe for their bodies," Grocutt said. "Another big thing is that we really want to be a resource for the queer community."

As far as they know, there is no place in Kitsap that is committed to providing body-safe toys or lubes, nor space for customers to try gender-affirming products like binders or breast forms, Grocutt said. With a gender-inclusive approach to advertising, the couple wants to offer resources for people exploring their gender identity.

To describe Aphrodisia, the couple prefers the word "sex shop" rather than "adult novelty store," as the former is more straightforward and the word "novelty" is often used by manufacturers to describe their products as if the manufacturers are not responsible for the safety of the sex toys or tools used on human bodies, Grocutt said.

Walking into the shop located at 1014 Bay Street, customers first see a selection of sex-related books laid on a table. On the wall hang a few transgender flags and some print art. A dressing room and a sofa are set in a corner. The rest of the tables and the shelves had a variety of colorful sex tools, sex toys, and gender-affirming products displayed.

Grocutt has been taking online sex education training courses provided by the Institute for Sexuality, Education and Enlightenment (ISEE) for some time and they have been implementing the knowledge they gained from the program to the operations of Aphrodisia, they said.

For example, Grocutt and Baron selected the books in the store with a sense of diversity and inclusion. Books like "The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability" and "Curvy Girl Sex" could draw attention to such issues and remind people that "it's not just like straight, thin, white able-bodied people that can enjoy sex," Grocutt said.

In the long term, the couple plans to host sex education workshops at the store. The workshop topics could be discussions about consent and boundaries or how parents can talk to their children about sex, depending on what the community would like them to be, Grocutt said.

Mason Johnstone, a Bremerton resident and a friend of Grocutt and Baron, was one of the customers who attended Aphrodisia's grand opening party. Johnstone said before the Port Orchard shop opened, he had to go to stores at Capital Hill in Seattle or shop online to buy products that have similar quality as the boutique offers. Now he can purchase those products in the local business closer to home.

"It's really nice to have a place like this nearby," Johnstone said. "It's warm and welcoming."

As a veteran who had served in the Navy, Johnstone said he could imagine it would be nice for the Navy community around the area to visit the shop.

Mia Bonifacio, also a Bremerton resident, said Grocutt and Baron are helpful in explaining the function of the products she'd like to know, such as how waterproof a Liberator blanket could be. As a queer, Bonifacio said staff at the chain sex stores she visited before were not always knowledgeable nor open-minded.

"It's really nice to be able to come here and know if I have a question about something, they're gonna be able to help me," Bonifacio said. "People should come check it out."

Baron's mother will be visiting the boutique in a few weeks, they said. Also a small business owner living in Arizona, Baron's mother is excited and happy for them to open Aphrodisia, Baron said.

"She's been really on board and very supportive," Baron said.

The boutique also received support from the Port Orchard community. South Kitsap Chamber of Commerce president Matt Murphy as well as city council member Fred Chang attended the grand opening. Murphy hosted the shop's ribbon-cutting event and welcomed the business to come to the city in a short speech.

"We wish them the best of luck," Murphy said.

"I'm excited that they're here because they are different, and it's probably the most unusual store in Port Orchard," Chang said.

Aphrodisia ended up in Port Orchard after the couple said they faced challenges after initially trying to find a location in Bremerton, specifically working with the city's planning department.

"They (Bremerton) really didn't want us," Grocutt said. "Port Orchard has been great. The city has been super helpful and it has been super easy. They've been really welcoming to us as a business."

The couple wants that attitude to apply to customers as well.

"We're probably more welcoming and more of a nice place to visit than you might expect if you've never been in a sex store before. And I think there's something for everyone here," Grocutt said.

Aphrodisia's regular hours are Wednesday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. More information is available at https://aphrodisia.boutique/.