Since our inception in 2009, She Bop has been on a mission to make pleasure and top-tier sexual education accessible to all. Our guiding principles – Education, Empowerment, Exploration, Enjoyment, Community, and Inclusivity – are the bedrock of everything we do. We want to elaborate further on how these guidelines help us all tap into our authentic pleasure and share it with you.

Pleasure through Empowerment

Providing support and encouragement for individuals to have a voice and take charge of themselves.

Good sex isn’t just about mastering specific skills, it’s about knowing yourself deeply. We believe that every individual has an inalienable right to own their desires and follow their authentic pleasure. Our staff works hard in their personal and professional lives to remove the stigma and shame around sexuality. Our dedication to helping others join us on this liberatory journey is an on-going promise. We are always seeking new ways to share the tools and resources you need to thrive and feel confident. We know that having amazing sex starts with loving yourself. Radical self-love is a life-long commitment, and we hope you’ll join us.

Pleasure Education

Providing resources and accessible communication to increase knowledge

We know that the best path to embrace authentic pleasure is through education. Unfortunately, we live in a society that still holds outdated sex-negative attitudes. It’s hard not to internalize social messaging that continues to glorify rape culture, dehumanize people based on gender, profit off of body insecurities, and obfuscate consent. It can be challenging to grow up feeling confident in our sexuality when we’re carrying a lifetime of conditioned beliefs that our bodies and desires are wrong. We are acutely aware of the enormous sums of money that are poured into advertising each year, aimed to prey on our shame. We have no interest in profiting off of manufactured insecurities. Quite the opposite – we strive to be an antidote to body negativity and slut shaming.

Our educational programming aims to remedy these social wrongs by bringing enriching classes and guides on topics that span sex, gender, and relationships. Whether you’re a sex nerd like us or are curious but timid about exploring these topics, our incredible roster of educators makes information easy and fun to digest. Our goal is to continuously gain and share knowledge. Even if you haven’t participated in a class, you can always ask questions to our incredible staff who are happy to provide helpful information.

Enjoyment

Having fun in the moment and creating a lighthearted supportive environment.

While we’re serious about our commitment to pleasure, we also know that fun is a connecting force. We don’t preach, indoctrinate, or prescribe when it comes to sex education. Nor do we judge. Instead, we value warmth and lighthearted conversations. By talking openly about sex together, we seek to understand what you desire so we can help you learn how to practice safely and consensually with others. We are a wide array of individuals whose desires span from sensual cuddling to hardcore BDSM and beyond. Most of all, we want you to feel free to explore alongside us. When we don’t know the answer to a question, we reach out to our expansive network so we can educate ourselves. We don’t pretend to have all the answers, we’re on this journey with you too.

Exploration

Having an open mind and willingness to engage in experimentation by trying new things and learning about one’s self.

We believe that part of being a sexually mature adult means understanding what works for you. We value exploration as a fundamental sex skill. Whether it’s taking a new class, putting yourself out there and asking out someone new, trying out a new toy, or breathing eroticism back into a long-term relationship, we encourage you to always keep exploring.

Additionally, we believe that exploration also means understanding what doesn’t work for you. While we hope that your exploration will be positive and lead to new tasty discoveries, we are realistic about the fact that sex does carry inherent risks. We advocate for everyone to feel safe expressing their limits and respecting others. Exploration is only possible when we fundamentally understand and actively practice consent. That doesn’t mean that all sex will always be great. We support you when mistakes happen or when you have a bad experience. We find our true enjoyment by being honest about the range of sexual experiences we will have throughout our lives, and using each as a learning opportunity.

Community Dedicated to Pleasure

The combination of involvement, support, and connectivity to gain an understanding of others and strive toward common goals.

We’re all in this together. We truly believe that pleasure starts with the personal and expands to a large-scale political project. As Adrienne Marie Brown so aptly put it, “When we feel good, we do good.” As a staple of the Portland community, we aim to give back as much as we receive. We pride ourselves in being do-gooders. Our long-standing We Give Back Wednesdays programs donate a percentage of our profits to local NGOs. And our ongoing community nights that bring people together.

We surround ourselves with folks who make each other’s lives better in tangible ways. We understand that in our alienated tech-mediated world, it can be easy to succumb to loneliness. You can join us at our events in-store or online to find like-minded individuals! We are always facilitating relationships that will enrich our community.

Inclusive Pleasure

Providing a space for people to be welcomed equally while valuing each individual.

For us, inclusivity isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a deeply rooted philosophy. We believe it’s worth the time and effort to deeply understand one another. Inclusivity isn’t a performative gesture but a commitment to build trust. Our differences can’t be erased or flattened, nor do they inherently divide us. Quite the opposite, it’s by learning together that we come to appreciate our varied communities while recognizing that individuals cannot be reduced to shallow clichés.

We aim to make you feel a sense of belonging while you share space with us. Practically speaking, this means that our staff will always respect you, no matter who you are. Our staff and educators bring their unique perspectives to sex education and share their authentic experiences of pleasure. We carry an assortment of products to help you find something that will excite you. Pleasure isn’t just for one type of person, it truly is for every body. We are excited to join you on your pleasure journey.