Slate: The Glory Hole Reopens

This summer, Jonah, a gay twentysomething in the D.C. area, was frustrated after months of the coronavirus lockdown. His sex life, as with so many others’, had been completely upended by the pandemic.

Then he stumbled on what seemed like a safer sex option: a glory hole.

Jonah found his glory hole—or a hole in a wall or other barrier between parties that allows for anonymous oral sex—through the sex and dating app Grindr. From there, he was directed to an online scheduling site that required minimal information. During his first time through, he received written instructions on where to meet, along with a helpful reminder of the time.

When he arrived at the station, he saw a wide partition with a gap in it. “It was unlike any other experience that I’ve ever had,” Jonah said. “Satisfying—but I couldn’t wrap my head around the mystery. I was at ease because I didn’t know what the other person looked like, but also concerned for that same reason. It ended, and he left the bathroom before I could even pull up my pants.”

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