They are risen
March 28, 2024 9:51 AM Subscribe
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence began in 1979 when a small group of gay men in San Francisco donned the habit of Catholic nuns, and used camp to subvert expectations & promote social and political change in San Francisco. Sacrilege or serious parody? Illicit joy or elicit compassionate apraxis? The Sisters have grown into an organization of queer joy with 65 houses in 10 countries. This Sunday Easter in the Park: Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary Competition is set to attract 10,000+ attendants, but the works of a Sister is never done.
Previously
Bearded queens and genderfuck drag
Smug liberal bigots
30 years of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Previously
Bearded queens and genderfuck drag
Smug liberal bigots
30 years of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Wow, 20 years ago I started talking to Seattle Sisters about how to get a house started here in the Spokane area. Unfortunately, it was not something I ever managed to put together. Still, I love the Sisters and their work.
posted by hippybear at 9:57 AM on March 28 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 9:57 AM on March 28 [3 favorites]
When they added butterfly wings to their habit, it was visually and cognitively unreal. (Seattle early 80's)
posted by sammyo at 10:13 AM on March 28
posted by sammyo at 10:13 AM on March 28
I've never wanted to be a drag queen, per se, but I always watch the Sisters enviously - they always look so fun.
posted by jb at 10:22 AM on March 28 [1 favorite]
posted by jb at 10:22 AM on March 28 [1 favorite]
I love the Sisters.
I used to think they were just delightfully fun; I didn't originally realize all the truly good charitable work they do in the world. They raise a lot of money to give grants to good causes:
I am really, really glad the Sisters are in the world, and thriving enough to have expanded their ministry to so many places. A ministry dedicated to spreading love and joy is a joyous thing.
Thank you so much for this post, rubatan, with all its wonderful links!
posted by kristi at 11:07 AM on March 28 [11 favorites]
I used to think they were just delightfully fun; I didn't originally realize all the truly good charitable work they do in the world. They raise a lot of money to give grants to good causes:
The Sisters tend to support under-funded, small organizations and projects providing direct services to under-served communities. The majority of these organizations and projects receive little, if any, government or mainstream funding and may be in the early stages of development. We are especially attracted to progressive grassroots projects that promote wellness, joy, tolerance, and diversity within our communities.They also do hospice work and educational outreach.
I am really, really glad the Sisters are in the world, and thriving enough to have expanded their ministry to so many places. A ministry dedicated to spreading love and joy is a joyous thing.
Thank you so much for this post, rubatan, with all its wonderful links!
posted by kristi at 11:07 AM on March 28 [11 favorites]
For some back-history on the origin of the Sisters, I very strongly recommend the documentary The Cockettes. (link to trailer on Youtube.)
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 11:36 AM on March 28 [2 favorites]
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 11:36 AM on March 28 [2 favorites]
My only encounter with them was when I was doing volunteer work as a bike valet at a pride event and they told me to apply for grants for my bike advocacy organization. Really generous and supportive.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:19 PM on March 28 [3 favorites]
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:19 PM on March 28 [3 favorites]
I moved to San Francisco in the mid-90s, and the Sisters were a regular cause celebre for local press. You could always count on them to make a great cover photo for pride week, and they made great live appearances wherever they were invited.
But this was a really specific time when I discovered them: the tail end of the worst period of the AIDS crisis in America. By 1998, Mayor Willie Brown was celebrating the way in which modern medications had turned it from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease. But in 1994 or 1995, it was all still getting worse. I'm straight, but the gay students in my school had a dark sense of fatalism at the time. They would describe themselves as "pre-HIV", and laugh with one another about who would sit by whose bed when the end finally came.
The Sisters had a tradition at the time that was meant to deal with the thousands of slow lonely deaths faced by people whose families had rejected them. They bestowed "sainthood" on the dying, in a colourful burlesque ritual that was half wake and half an episode of This Is Your Life. It was a title and a ceremony that promised the beatified that they were loved, and would be remembered.
So for every above-the-fold Chronicle photo of a parade that showed them blowing kisses and lifting the hems of their habits, I wish we had a quick way of conveying the absolutely selfless mission they undertook to give comfort to the sick and dying. For all the punk drag queen aesthetics, they were the most genuine embodiment of the spirit of the European monastic tradition.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 4:46 AM on March 29 [13 favorites]
But this was a really specific time when I discovered them: the tail end of the worst period of the AIDS crisis in America. By 1998, Mayor Willie Brown was celebrating the way in which modern medications had turned it from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease. But in 1994 or 1995, it was all still getting worse. I'm straight, but the gay students in my school had a dark sense of fatalism at the time. They would describe themselves as "pre-HIV", and laugh with one another about who would sit by whose bed when the end finally came.
The Sisters had a tradition at the time that was meant to deal with the thousands of slow lonely deaths faced by people whose families had rejected them. They bestowed "sainthood" on the dying, in a colourful burlesque ritual that was half wake and half an episode of This Is Your Life. It was a title and a ceremony that promised the beatified that they were loved, and would be remembered.
So for every above-the-fold Chronicle photo of a parade that showed them blowing kisses and lifting the hems of their habits, I wish we had a quick way of conveying the absolutely selfless mission they undertook to give comfort to the sick and dying. For all the punk drag queen aesthetics, they were the most genuine embodiment of the spirit of the European monastic tradition.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 4:46 AM on March 29 [13 favorites]
I co-wrote a book called The American LGBTQ Rights Movement: An Introduction, in which the Sisters are featured, among many others. Please click on my name to find the free download from its university home. And enjoy!
posted by goofyfoot at 11:33 PM on March 29 [2 favorites]
posted by goofyfoot at 11:33 PM on March 29 [2 favorites]
I worked with a couple of Sisters in the mid-to-late 90s — not in their Sisterly endeavors directly, but professionally — and they were amazing humans. More than once, both arrived at work dressed for appearances they were making before or after their shift, and I have to say they did just gorgeous costuming and makeup work.
Every one of the Sisters I met during that period was funny as fuck, incredibly kind of soul, and just a gas to be around. Unfortunately, one went Above shortly after leaving for another job. I was heartbroken when I found out.
The Sisters do such incredible work for everyone they touch. Sometimes that work is as simple as making the people around them happier; or maybe safer; sometimes it's the work of saving generations, a tiny bit at a time.
posted by majick at 6:40 PM on March 31
Every one of the Sisters I met during that period was funny as fuck, incredibly kind of soul, and just a gas to be around. Unfortunately, one went Above shortly after leaving for another job. I was heartbroken when I found out.
The Sisters do such incredible work for everyone they touch. Sometimes that work is as simple as making the people around them happier; or maybe safer; sometimes it's the work of saving generations, a tiny bit at a time.
posted by majick at 6:40 PM on March 31
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posted by rubatan at 9:55 AM on March 28 [1 favorite]