From Twinkies to Gerbils: The History of the Gay Urban Legend

[snopes]

Let’s take a look at a few of the most persistent, troubling, outrageous, or just plain wrong gay urban legends.

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2008/4/urbanlegends

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by snopes

Let’s take a look at a few of the most persistent, troubling, outrageous, or just plain wrong gay urban legends.

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2008/4/urbanlegends

Gerbillophilia is documented in Eskapa's book "Bizarre Sex". The book is otherwise fairly factual and contains quotes and references (and is itself quoted in other works), so including the gerbil myth among factual info has helped perpetuate it.

[Ramblin' Dave]

I think the gerbil myth is the first UL I ever heard debunked. My college's "conservative alternative" newspaper ran a tasteless cartoon featuring a gay man asking to borrow another's gerbil. One of numerous letters the paper received in response explained that there was no evidence anyone anywhere had ever done such a thing.

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

There's a nice "tip of the hat" to snopes at the end of the article.