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Aglory hole (also spelledgloryhole andglory-hole) is a hole in a wall or partition, often betweenpublic lavatory cubicles orsex video arcade booths and lounges, for people to engage insexual activity or to observe the person on the opposite side.
Glory holes are especially associated withgay male culture andanal ororal sex.[1][2][3] They are not exclusively favoured by gay people, and have become more commonly acknowledged as a fetish for heterosexual and bisexual individuals.[4]
In more recent years, public glory holes have faded in popularity in many countries,[5] though some gay websites offer directories of remaining ones. Glory holes are sometimes a topic oferotic literature, andpornographic films have been devoted to their use.[2]
Numerous motivations can be ascribed to the use anderoticism of glory holes. As a wall separates the two participants, they have no contact except for a penis and a mouth, hand, anus, or vagina. Almost total anonymity is maintained, as no other attributes are taken into consideration.[6] The glory hole is seen as an erotic oasis in gay subcultures around the world; people's motives, experiences and attributions of value in its use are varied.[7][8]
In light of the ongoingHIV pandemic, manygay men reevaluated their sexual and erotic desires and practices.[9] Queer theoristTim Dean has suggested that glory holes allow for a physical barrier, which may be an extension ofpsychological barriers, in which there is internalizedhomophobia (a result of many societies' reluctance to discussLGBT practices and people).[9] For some gay men, a glory hole depersonalizes their partner altogether as a disembodied object of sexual desire.[9]
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The first documented instance of a glory hole was in a 1707 court case known as the "Tryals of Thomas Vaughan and Thomas Davis" in London, which involved the extortion of a man known in the documents only as Mr Guillam.[10][3] At the time, gay sex in public places could lead to arrests by members of theSociety for the Reformation of Manners. Often the authorities would wait outside the Lincoln's Inn bog house in London as one place to catch people.
The courts heard that a man (Mr Guillam) had visited a lavatory stall to relieve himself, when another male put his penis through a hole in the wall ("a Boy in the adjoyning Vault put his Privy-member through a Hole").[11] Mr Guillam, surprised by the action, fled the lavatory, only to be followed by the male who cried out that he would have had sex with him. Mr Guillam was then confronted by Mr Vaughan who, knowing Mr Guillam's innocence, threatened to turn him in to the police and reveal him to his wife if he did not pay him a sum of money.
According to theRoutledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang, "glory hole" first appeared in print in 1949, when an anonymously published glossary,Swasarnt Nerf's Gay Girl's Guide, defined it as "[a] phallic size hole in partition between toilet booths. Sometimes used also for a mere peep-hole."[3]
Another reference to glory holes appeared inTearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places, a controversial book published by sociologistLaud Humphreys in 1970, where he suggests the "tearoom", or bathroom stall, as a prime space for men to congregate for sexual fulfilment. It also appeared later in the 1977 bookThe Joy of Gay Sex.[12]
Public glory holes started to fade in popularity as the decriminalization of homosexuality was introduced in many countries, and concerns over HIV/AIDS changed gay culture. A 2001 study in theJournal of Homosexuality found that public glory holes remained popular among many gay men "simply because they find [them] exciting and/or convenient."[3]
Despite the fading prominence of glory holes in public, some gay bath houses and sex clubs maintain the presence of glory holes in their establishments, and some people have acknowledged installing private glory-hole walls in their own homes.[4] Bathroom sex remains a fetish for a subset of gay men in particular, who engage in similarly anonymous acts below a bathroom stall separator rather than through a hole.
In 2018, theWestern Australian Museum added a "historic glory hole" to its collection. It had been situated in the toilet stall of theAlbany Highway-side of theGosnells train station, but was removed and saved in 1997 before the toilet was demolished.[13][14]
TheLeather Archives & Museum was loaned a glory hole fromMan’s Country in Chicago in June 2019.[15]
A 2020BuzzFeed article collected anecdotes from gay, straight and bisexual readers recounting their experiences with glory holes atswinger parties.[4]
Public sex of any kind is illegal in many parts of the world, and policeundercover operations continue to be used to enforce such laws.[16] Adverse personal consequences to participants in glory hole activity have included policesurveillance andpublic humiliation in the press, often with marital and employment consequences, and imprisonment following a criminal conviction.Gay bashing,mugging andbodily injury are further potential risks. For reasons of personal safety, as well asetiquette, men typically wait for a signal from the receptive partner before inserting their genitals through a glory hole.[citation needed]
Glory holes are a recurring theme in pornography. Straight porn often features scenarios involving them; in some instances, it involveskink mistresses, who see it as a form of women's sexual agency and mastery.[4]
The early 20th-centurypornographic cartoonEveready Harton in Buried Treasure depicts the use of an improvised glory hole forzoophilic purposes.
Jackass Number Two features a stunt where cast memberChris Pontius dresses his penis in a mouse costume and inserts it into a glory hole that feeds into a snake's cage.
InThe Illuminatus! Trilogy a glory hole, in the form of a giant golden apple with an opening in it, is used as part of the Discordian initiation ritual, causing the main character to wonder who or what is on the other side.
American glam metal bandSteel Panther's albumAll You Can Eat features a song entitled "Gloryhole", about the narrator's frequent visits to a local gloryhole.
In the "Mac and Charlie Die (Part 1)" episode of the sitcomIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the gang discovers a glory hole has been added to the men's bathroom in their bar.
In 2024, comedy duoRhett and Link gamified the glory hole for their annualGood Mythical Evening livestream. The game included a "Gory Hole" as the event was Halloween themed. The participant was instructed to guess what inanimate object was poking out of the hole while blindfolded and unable to use their hands.
The Lonely Island returned to form withSNL Digital Short“Sushi Glory Hole” on the October 6, 2024 episode ofSaturday Night Live.
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{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help)This paper gives a brief description of the "glory hole" and its popularity in certain areas of public homosexual activity...(quote from the abstract)
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