Gerbilling

For a hazard relating to piloting a monowheel, see monowheel gerbiling

Gerbils are the most common rodents to be allegedly inserted.

Gerbilling, also known as gerbil stuffing or gerbil shooting, is an urban legend that describes a supposed 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.

Though medical literature indicates that people have inserted a vast array of objects into their rectums for sexual stimulation, there is no reputably-reported case of gerbilling in peer-reviewed literature.

Overview

Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand reports that the gerbilling story was first documented in 1984, and initially involved a mouse and an unidentified gay man. In subsequent versions of the story the rodent became a gerbil, and the incident attributed to any of several prominent male celebrities who were publicly supposed to be gay. Rumors surrounding various male celebrities engaging in gerbilling have become persistent urban legends over the years.

In mass media

An entirely fictional account appeared in a South Park episode #93, The Death Camp of Tolerance. The unfortunate cartoon gerbil exited alive.

See also

• American Psycho
• Mallrats
• Rectal foreign object
• Stephen Lynch album A Little Bit Special

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.

External links

• A study of felching and gerbiling in language, culture, and popular imagination.