Of the many sex shops that dot the landscape across the U.S., As You Like It; The Pleasure Shop, a female-owned, gender-inclusive and eco-friendly adult toy and novelties store in Eugene, Oregon, stands out as a new breed among boutique retailers.
Founded in 2015, As You Like It is tucked away just west of downtown Eugene not far from the University of Oregon campus; the store’s dark wood floors and beamed ceilings, cozy seating areas and wrought-iron decorative fixtures offer the homey feel of a neighborhood bookstore where locals can drop by to browse and chat amongst the rows of body-friendly vibrators, oils, lotions and lingerie on display.
Our staff is familiar with our products and well-versed in advising our customers about what certain ingredients, how certain items work, how they fit, you name it… we’ve heard it all and there’s no embarrassment here.
According to As You Like It owner and CEO Kim Marks, the inviting atmosphere and open-box presentation is very much by design: “I had the vision of an all body-safe, gender-inclusive store that is a haven for all customers to openly explore.”
“Here, they know what they are buying is safe for their bodies, and we try very hard to make sure this is a place where they feel comfortable enough — both exploring on their own and asking for help. People tell me they love the ‘clinical,’ matter-of-fact tone I use when speaking to them about our products… they say I help make the often delicate conversations seem ‘normal.’”
Marks launched AsYouLikeItShop.com in 2012 and, inspired by the store’s online success, decided to open a brick-and-mortar location in Eugene; she briefly considered the more cosmopolitan setting of Portland to peddle her storefront wares, but found the citizens of Eugene to be a caring and helpful local community more than willing to support her erotic endeavors.
Procuring a bank loan and commercial lease proved challenging for the budding entrepreneur, with several landlords wary of renting to an adult-themed retailer. She was quite surprised to find that, despite the city’s progressive reputation, there would be so many bureaucratic obstructions on the road to achieving her goal.
“Scraping all the necessary resources and money required to open this store took immense community support and years of hard work,” explains Marks, “so every day we are open feels like a victory.”
As You Like It’s commitment to body-safe and ecologically conscious products stems from Marks’ own background as an environmental activist who studied Forest Ecology at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. While there, she noticed a scarcity of gender-inclusive adult shops and toys and became motivated to combine her passions and create a destination that offered, as she puts it, “something for everybody and every body.”
Marks’ passion for activism and support for dedicated special interest groups solidified her desire to provide and promote socially conscious sexual health products with a special emphasis on sex education. She’s held official positions as community partnerships manager for Greenpeace and board president for the Civil Liberties Defense Center.
“Our staff is familiar with our products and well-versed in advising our customers about what certain ingredients, how certain items work, how they fit, you name it… we’ve heard it all and there’s no embarrassment here.
“People throw the word ‘curated’ around a lot these days to describe their attention to detail when choosing products to sell in their stores, but for me it’s personal,” said Marks, a cancer survivor who is particularly sensitive to the potential dangers of ingredients such as phthalates, amines, Ceteareth-6, mineral oil, parabens, petrolatum, propylene glycol, sulfates, ureas and synthetic fragrances.
“We personally research the materials in every product we consider buying for the store… a task more difficult than it seems, which is why we urge our customers to double-check their purchases and let us know if there is any possible health risk. We don’t often make mistakes when it comes to this sort of thing, but if we do, we want to remedy the situation immediately.”
Marks added, “We can’t escape many of the pollutants and toxins that surround us on a daily basis, but we can control what we put onto or into our bodies — all beauty/body care products are absorbed into the skin — and that’s my personal objective as a business owner. I don’t want to ever sell anything to people that could potentially harm them.”
In 2016, Marks expanded the company’s brand with the introduction of As You Like It Organics, certified organic by Oregon Tilth and the USDA — non-toxic, handmade massage oils, creams and sensual body butters — offering them wholesale and in her store, alongside other popular brands such as Sliquid, pjur, Boy Butter, ON and Ride BodyWorx.
The store’s current inventory also includes vibes, dildos, plugs, harness packs, Kegel exercisers, clamps, menstrual cups and BDSM/fetish accessories by trusted names such as Fun Factory, Tantus, We-Vibe, New York Toy Collective, Sensuelle, Njoy, Kink Lab, Sportsheets and many more.
What sets As You Like It apart from other adult novelty stores is its designated “gender expression” section, which caters to specialty customers who prefer breast forms, packing underwear/harness sets, hiding gaff panties and stand-to-pee devices.
Marks is committed to maintaining the health and wellbeing of the members of her community by hosting and promoting regular in-store events that create a welcoming and enlightening atmosphere for her customers.
Thoughtfully planned and presented with the assistance of sex educator and author/publisher Janet Hardy (“The Ethical Slut”), As You Like It’s regular monthly events include workshops, demonstrations and author-led readings about topics such as self-love, menopause, herbal medicine and nutrition, intimacy, communication and sexual re-awakening in midlife.
She also hosts private “EcoSex Pleasureware” parties, bachelorette blowouts and adult birthdays — in-store or at home — where she introduces curious attendees to the store’s top-selling eco-conscious toys and sexual health products with the assistance of a trained sex educator and personal product specialist.
Marks reflects back on the positive strides As You Like It has made during the store’s short three-and-a-half years in Eugene. “I have had so many favorite moments with this shop — I have a couple that always stand out in my mind,” she said.
“We sell a lot of gender-affirming products here, and once we had customer come in to see if they could get a packer (prosthetic device). I showed them where we keep them, and they fell to their knees, almost in tears. They told me that they had never seen so many styles and skin tones, and that in that moment they felt not only supported, but normal.”
While the modern era — specifically the advent of the no-holds-barred Internet and its effect on sexually open younger generations of adults — has been a boon for sex-positive shops and every kind of pleasure product imaginable, Marks notes that many older generations of men and women still cling to the long-held (and long-past) notion that adult stores attract a shady, undesirable type of customer … and that notion is only now slowly beginning to fade.
“We had a woman who was well into her 80s come in because she saw the mayor here for our opening,” said Marks. “I will always remember what she said to me: ‘Well, I knew that if our mayor felt comfortable in your space I should be able to be too!’ She had a great time picking out her toy that day.”
