Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 22:41:10 -0500 From: "Mark P. Behar" In Search of the Elusive Gerbil Lover Who's running to emergency rooms with rodents up the butt? Story by Jeff Epperly Reprinted with permission from Boston's Bay Windows. [X-TRA! No. 282, Aug 18, 1995) It is a sexual practice whose notoriety reached its zenith with the rumour that a famous US actor, once married to a famous US supermodel, was rushed into a Los Angeles-area hospital wearing a bag over his head to conceal the fact that his sexual romp in the cedar shavings with a gerbil had gone awry. Judging from how widespread knowledge of the practice has become, it would seem that more than a few gay men must be engaging in what has become known as "gerbilling." That is, sexual enjoyment derived from stuffing gerbils (or other small rodents) into one's rectum. Are gay men that much on the cutting edge of sexual exploration? Are they stupid enough to stick a live animal with claws and teeth into their bodies? A check with the US National Library of Medicine and emergency rooms at several urban US hospitals revealed no evidence that the practice takes place at all. Nevertheless, stories about gay male gerbilling are told again and again. This trek in search of the elusive gerbil lover got its start on America Online (AOL), the US on-line computer service. AOL has hundreds of message boards devoted to a dizzying array of topics. Included among them is the Emergency Response Forum, a place where emergency medical personnel can exchange trade-related ideas and information. And so, this question was posted: Had anyone in the forum ever treated or transported a patient who had a gerbil or other rodent in his rectum? The response was swift and only one person seemed completely skeptical. "I've never encountered or seen absolute proof of such a case other than hearsay," wrote an AOL member, "and I've worked in some strange places." The rest of the replies weren't so dismissive. "Several years ago, there were two or three patients from the gay community who came into Dallas [emergency rooms] with a history of inserting a hamster or gerbil into their rectum with the help of a Habitrail," wrote AOL member DocBryanB. "Evidently, as the hamster became hypoxic, he or she would begin to fight and claw and this evidently brought some arousal on the part of the patient. "Often they would masturbate at the same time. The hamster would die and they could usually extract them. Two patients came to emergency departments with possible infections, peritonitis, and so on. The other, as I recall, simply went to the OR for a hamster extraction." Do these Dallas hospitals have any records regarding patients who needed rodent extractions? Calls to one hospital were not returned. And the other hospital's spokesperson said, "Definitely not. We can't find any record of anyone being brought in with an animal of any kind up their rectum. Nobody remembers one, either." If any hospital had seen a case of gay gerbilling gone bad, one in particular would: The biggest, busiest hospital in the US's gayest city. "Why would you want to know that?" asked a suspicious Gloria Rodriguez, spokeswoman for San Francisco General Hospital. "I don't think anybody's going to be willing to talk to you about that, but I'll check." Sounding generally uncomfortable with the whole subject, Rogriguez stumbled over her words when she added that she checked with Alice Trinkle, a University of California writer who also works at the hospital. Trinkle told Rodriguez that she remembered a study "in 1985 that looked at cases like this that included many different kinds of things that were found... uh... inserted or whatever anally, uh, from light bulbs to doll heads, and I think gerbils." Efforts to reach Trinkle were unsuccessful, and a computerized search of the National Library of Medicine, which has more than 16 million citations dating back to 1966, found not a single reference to gay men (or anyone else for that matter) and gerbilling. But searches using rectal terms in conjunction with the term "foreign object" returned a gold mine of responses. Inserting objects into one's rectum appears to be more popular that society would probably admit, but the patients involved were male and female and none were identified as either gay or straight. Foreign objects in the rectum that were cited included: An intrauterine device, and open deodorant bottle, a curtain rod, a broomstick, a light bulb, a flashlight, a walking stick, various food-related items and a spoon. Alas, no rodents. Jane Howell, spokeswoman for the American College of Emergency Room Physicians, says that while she has certainly heard snickering references to gerbilling, she has not run across any concerete evidence that it exists. "I have never heard anyone seriously mention this, and I've heard some pretty strange things in this job. It's not like someone wouldn't mention it." === [My own comment on the matter: This seems to be a clear urban myth, originating perhaps as a joke or mischief. It is now, I think, a real source of homophobia the medical profession gives to the general public. If it ever did occur, its frequency clearly doesn't reflect the fact that nearly everyone has a friend or relative who "knows of" a case. As well, the author of this article, unfortunately, doesn't address the significant role mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, play in the "foreign body" problem. -Kevin Speight, kevinsp8@ac.dal.ca] -----FORWARDER'S COMMENTS: This message posted courtesy of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/etc. medical board, Kevin Spaight, moderator. Although this is not an issue directly relevant to glbpoc's, it is a stupid, distructive, and homophobic story that needs to be exposed as the "myth" that it is. ********************************************************************* --Mark Behar, PA-C email: mbehar@omnifest.uwm.edu P.O. Box 239 email: mbehar@fammed.wisc.edu Milwaukee, WI 53201 ********************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* To send a message to the entire list "glbpoc", email glbpoc@abacus.oxy.edu To unsubscribe, send a message 'unsubscribe glbpoc' to MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu. 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