Gerbilling
Gerbilling, also known as Richard Gere gerbil in anis or gerbil shooting, is a rumoured sexual practice of inserting small live animals (usually gerbils but also mice, hamsters, rats and various other rodents) into the human rectum to obtain stimulation. Some variations of reports suggest that the rodent be covered in a psychoactive substance such as cocaine prior to being inserted.
Overview
According to folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand, accounts of gerbilling were first recorded in 1984 and initially were said to involve a mouse and an unidentified man. In subsequent versions of the story, the animal was a gerbil and the story applied to several male celebrities.[1][2] Rumors surrounding various male celebrities engaging in gerbilling have become persistent urban legends.[1][3][4]
As of the mid-1980s, there were no reports in peer-reviewed medical literature describing gerbilling among the variety of rectal foreign objects removed from people's bodies.[5][6]
Mike Walker, a National Enquirer gossip columnist, spent months attempting to verify the gerbilling rumors about a celebrity. "I've never worked harder on a story in my life," Walker told the Palm Beach Post in 1995. After much investigation, he was unable to find any evidence that a gerbilling incident ever happened: "I'm convinced that it's nothing more than an urban legend."[7]
Dan Savage, a sex-advice columnist who frequently discusses unusual sexual practices, stated in 2013 that he has never received a first-hand or even a second-hand account of the practice.[8]
According to the editors of Snopes.com, gerbilling is simply an unverified and persistent urban legend that is pure fiction.[1]
Nonetheless, the practice of gerbilling remains well known in popular culture.
In popular culture
A very prominent mention of gerbilling occurred on mainstream TV in the episode "The Death Camp of Tolerance", the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series South Park, aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 20, 2002. Finally promoted to teaching fourth graders, Mr. Garrison realizes that getting fired for being homosexual could allow him to sue the school for millions. He decides to perform outrageous sex acts in the classroom, hiring his partner Mr. Slave as his teaching assistant. Though the children complain about Garrison's inappropriate activities, their parents mistakenly think their children are intolerant of homosexuality. Garrison, annoyed that no one has complained about his actions, steps up his campaign to get fired by shoving "Lemmiwinks", the class gerbil, into Mr. Slave's rectum, as an act of gerbilling.
In the song "Fack" from his 2005 album Curtain Call: The Hits, rapper Eminem recites a verse about gerbilling. "Now see that gerbil, grab that tube/stick it up my butt/let that little rascal nibble on my asshole".[9]
A February 2015 episode of Family Feud featured a woman who immediately answered "a gerbil" when host Steve Harvey asked "Name something a doctor would pull out of a person." The response produced prolonged laughter from the audience and a stunned silence from Harvey; even the other contestant at the podium burst out laughing over her response. The clip of the scene from the episode quickly went viral.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Barbara and David P. Mikkelson (2001-11-18). "From Gere to eternity". Urban Legends Reference Pages. snopes.com. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ↑ Brunvand, Jan Harold (2001). "The Colo-Rectal Mouse". Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-57607-076-5. ISBN 9781576070765
- ↑ Brunvand, Jan Harold (2001). "Gerbiling". Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-57607-076-5. ISBN 9781576070765
- ↑ "Gerbilling Mishap Injures Two". About.com. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ↑ Adams, Cecil (1986). "Is It True What they Say About Gerbils?" The Straight Dope, March 28, 1986.
- ↑ Busch, D. B.; Starling, J. R. (1986). "Rectal foreign bodies: case reports and a comprehensive review of the world's literature". Surgery. 100 (3): 512–519. PMID 3738771.
- ↑ Young, Paul (2002). L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 20. ISBN 978-0312206468.
- ↑ Dan Savage (March 20, 2013). "Gerbils? Again?". thestranger.com.
- ↑ Top 50 Grossest Rap Lyrics Complex.com (03/27/2013)
- ↑ She said what? Possibly the most awkward answer ever shouted on game show KSTU (02/12/2015)
Further reading
- Norine Dresser (July 1994). "The Case of the Missing Gerbil". Western Folklore. 53 (3): 229–242. JSTOR 1499810.
- Barbara and David P. Mikkelson (2001-11-18). "From Gere to Eternity". Urban Legends Reference Pages.
- Cecil Adams (1986-03-28). "Is it true what they say about gerbils?". The Straight Dope.
- Becky Vorpagel (1988). "A rodent by Any Other Name: Implications of a Contemporary Legend". International Folklore Review. 6: 53–57.
- Jane Hu (2012-11-19). "A Complete History Of Gerbiling So Far". The Awl.
- Plaintiffs' Response, Conseco Services, L.L.C., v. Alexander, 2009 WL 2492186 (D.Kan.)(case where former employee created websites that suggested other employees utilized gerbils as a sexual prop). Court Order
