Reviews from the road: Aphrodite’s Toy Box, Atlanta GA

In one of my original posts about feminist sex shops, a few of you mentioned Aphrodite’s Toy Box (ATB) in Atlanta. I was intrigued by it when I went to the website, which had a very distinct feel from the other feminist sex shops I have visited. I made the trek to Aphrodite’s when I was in Atlanta for my road trip, and it was definitely an experience.
I don’t say trek casually, as it was really a hike to find ATB. This may be more about Atlanta than the store itself, but I have to give it a low score on the accessibility front. Wanting to avoid driving since we were spending most of our time doing just that, we ventured to ATB via MARTA (Atlanta’s subway). It was a long unfriendly walk from the closest MARTA to ATB, about a mile and on roads that aren’t very pedestrian friendly. So definitely take a car if you want to visit the store.
It’s a welcoming place, occupying an entire little wooden building off a main road. The majority of their stock was lingerie, corsets and other sexy outfits. They had a good variety of sizes though, covering women from XS to XXXL. Definite bonus. They had a large sexy costume (Halloween style) section, as well as some leather items.
The sex toys themselves were in a separate room, divided by a curtain, which reminded me a bit of the porn section of the video store. I wasn’t a big fan of the separation and asked the owner whether it was state law, but she said it was just her preference. There was a state mandated sign in the room “for novelty purposes only.” The toys were generally pretty expensive (more than other stores I have shopped in) and there were quite a few that I won’t want to sell in my store (like Anal Ease for example–check out what Tristan Taormino has to say for more on why it’s not so great). Also, many of the toys were displayed in their original packaging, much of which is kind of gross and sexist. I’ve realized this is one of the main things that sets feminist sex shops apart–they take a lot of care with how they display things. All of the toys are out of their original packaging (which the stores have little control over) and it really makes a difference for me as a shopper.
The store also offers a bunch of classes, from things like pole dancing, belly dancing and stilleto fitness.
Aphrodite’s Toy Box definitely isn’t one of my favorite sex shops. I’m not sure if the owner would self-identify it as feminist, although it is definitely woman-owned and woman-oriented. The stock of lingerie and other clothing was impressive, but the toys left a lot to be desired.