THE GOOD SISTERS

When I was but a young gayling finding my way, I won't say out, because I was never in, I know I was taken by drag quite quickly. Besides seeing and meeting Lady Bunny right quick, I was also drawn to Coco Peru , Hedda Lettuce, Mona Foot and our town drag queen Ito Lame, who was stunning. But in the mid 90's I also saw in pictures Sister Roma and she too captivated me. Was she and the other "sisters" really a nun? A clown? A drag queen? All three really, lol, but I would learn so much more about her and them that summer. I consider them to be a gay staple and trailblazers really, one we should all know.

Sister Roma and Sister Mary Cooter

 Sister Roma and  the story of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence began in San Francisco on Easter Day of 1979. Back then, just a year before the city’s gay community was struck by the AIDS epidemic, four friends found themselves fed up with what was called the “Castro clone look."  Gay men in San Francisco in the 70s all presented very masculine, leather jackets, moustaches, sort of like the Marlboro Man. So a few of them were very fed up with that, and they thought, Let’s put on these nun’s habits and sort of go out and screw with people and see what happens. As they strolled from the Castro to the city’s gay beach, everywhere they went the reaction was just insane — people had never seen anything like these men, most of them with facial hair, in nun’s habits. They realized they were onto something, so they came up with a name for their group: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Now almost five decades later, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who were clearly ahead of their time, and many of their campy “dragtivism” tactics have inspired others. Little did they know it then, but  four queers who went out in these nuns habits actually started changing the world.

Michael Campbell became Sister Florence Nightmare, and sadly passed on... was well known across America as the self-designated “AIDS poster boy,” when he and his partner graced a Newsweek magazine cover, giving the pandemic a face finally,  a role he took on in an effort to destigmatize the disease. The sisters took a very pragmatic, responsible attitude towards the virus and felt a need to protect the community. So  Sisters Roma, Florence Nightmare and Sister Roz Erection, produced a safer sex pamphlet called Play Fair that they still produce today, that was the world’s first-ever safer sex pamphlet. In the early 1980s, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence hosted some of the world’s first fundraisers for AIDS victims, many of whom faced financial ruin as the then-unknown pathogen ravaged their bodies. The sisters were at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS before anyone knew what the disease actually was.

At each anniversary every 10 years, the sisters have had a different focus. In 1989,  Sister Roma launched the "stop the violence” campaign, which addressed an uptick of homophobic hate crimes in San Francisco at that time. Queer people were still really fighting for equality and just desiring to be recognized as equal people in the world.  That same year The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence also became an official nonprofit organization.

For their 20th anniversary in 1999, the Sisters closed Castro Street for a massive celebration that seemed like a no-brainer to them, but apparently it was quite a major issue for a lot of people in San Francisco at the time who  thought that the Sisters were very sacrilegious. But support from local politicians got them through the day, and they hosted their street fair, where the Sisters emceed a “hunky Jesus” competition that continues to this very day.

Sister Taint A Virgin

 The Sisters are a global network of autonomous Orders or Houses, with the San Francisco Motherhouse being the largest, biggest and most active fundraiser. They have members in at least 13 US states and 8 countries on 5 continentsThe organization now has more than 800 members worldwide. Originally, the organization included only gay male nuns, but now accepts all genders and orientations including intersex, lesbian, heterosexual, bisexual and transgender people.The Order is mostly set up as non-profit charity organizations within their countries, raising money for AIDS, other LGBT-related charities and mainstream community service organizations, helping lead the campaign for safer sex and harm reduction. The Sisters have been considered controversial by various members,  both within and outside the LGBTQ and queer communities but have received the harshest criticism for obvious parodies of Catholic icons and policies.However, the San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence alone have raised well over $1,000,000. 

Sister Unity

The Sisters devote themselves to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment. The Sisters believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty and use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit. It came as no surprise either that they were also out in force to protest and give support to the latest Black Lives Matter and George Floyd marches. They are definitely one of our communities best gems.