Incidentally, the increased scrutiny on homosexual and non-normative behavior fostered a lively subculture. The turn of the 18 th century was a particularly rough time for homosexuals (or sodomites, as they had come to be called): A religious revival was rocking Western European society, inspiring new laws to govern sexual practice and deviancy. So what about the gay meaning? In 1707, more than 100 years before glory hole entered the lexicon of glass production, the sex act we now commonly associate with glory holes made its (first historically documented) debut, also in England.
