The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), also called Order of Perpetual Indulgence (OPI), is a charitable, protest, and street performance movement that uses drag and religious imagery to satirize issues of sex, gender, and morality (particularly Christian perspectives on these topics) and fundraise for charity. In 1979, a small group of gay men in San Francisco began wearing the attire of Catholic nuns in visible situations using camp to promote various social and political causes in the Castro District.
From the original organization in San Francisco, the Sisters have grown throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and South America, and are now an international network of autonomous orders. These orders are mostly registered as non-profit charity organizations that raise money for AIDS, LGBTQ-related causes, and mainstream community service organizations, while promoting safer sex and educating others about the harmful effects of drug use and other high risk behaviors. They have also protested many Christian, and specifically Catholic, events perceived as anti-LGBTQ, including the visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States.
Throughout the movement's history there have been a number of conflicts with Christian communities. The group has been characterized by several Catholic clergy, organizations and laypeople (such as the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights) as anti-Catholic and a hate-group for impersonating and mocking Catholic practices and beliefs, including religious sisters.
Contents
Inception
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence made their first appearance on Castro Street in San Francisco in 1979. Their approach and appearance was not new or extraordinary for the place or time. Starting in the 1960s, the Castro District began transitioning from a working class Irish Catholic district going through significant economic decline. A gay bar opened on Market Street and gradually, gay men began to migrate to the neighborhood. By 1977, between 100,000 and 200,000 had moved to San Francisco from all over the United States, changing the political and cultural profile of the city. The Castro was also known for the outrageous characters who were 1970s mainstays, such as Jesus Christ Satan and The Cosmic Lady, who endeared themselves to local residents with their unique perspectives, particularly during street events such as the Castro Street Fair and Halloween in the Castro. At the same time, religious participation in politics appeared in the late 1970s with the activism of Anita Bryant, and Jerry Falwell's establishment of the Moral Majority. The Castro District had been publicized nationally as a major gay neighborhood and was targeted by evangelists who took weekly trips to loudly preach to the residents about the immorality of homosexuality.
On April 14, 1979 (Saturday of Easter weekend), three men (Ken Bunch, Fred Brungard, and a friend) dressed as nuns with habits, that Bunch had acquired several years before, walked through the Castro. Later Bunch and Burngard with a different friend, Agnes de Garron a.k.a. Edmund Garron, appeared at a gay softball game in habit and with pom poms. At the annual Castro Street Fair on August 19, 1979, Sister Adhanarisvara (Bunch) and Sister Missionary Position (Brungard) along with Sister Solicitation (de Garron) and Reverend Mother, the Abbess (Bill Graham) announced the order and started recruiting. Later that year, de Garron designed habits for the members while the group discussed what to do. Initially, they made postcards and greeting cards depicting them in their habits which they handed out with a requested donation to cover costs. Either at the end of 1979 or beginning of 1980, the group decided on a name, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Their first protest as an official order was joining an anti-nuclear march in March 1980 with habits and pom poms and reciting their "Rosary in Time of Nuclear Peril".
In August 1980, they confronted the evangelists: a dozen men dressed in 14th century Belgian nun's robes and habits, and according to one participant, Sister Missionary Position, "a teensy bit of make-up so as not to be dowdy on a Friday night", met the evangelists at Harvey Milk Plaza. One recited a litany asking among other things for "mercy on the self-righteous who take away our liberty". The evangelist left but then returned in a larger group to be met by the sisters dancing and reciting the litany. The next day at a larger evangelical event including a Christian band the sisters joined in the dancing and flirted with the evangelists.
Structure and methods
Members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence include people who identify with a variety of sexual orientations and genders, although the majority are gay men. Joining an order mirrors the steps for joining a traditional order of nuns. Potential members are encouraged to attend organizational meetings as aspirants, and told that if they are not intending to make a lifelong commitment they should seriously reconsider. After showing intent and being approved by the order, an aspirant is promoted to a postulant and is expected to learn about the history of the organization and continue to work behind the scenes for at least six months. Postulants are not allowed to wear nun's attire, but may instead dress in "festive garb that fits in with Order", according to the Sisters' website. If the members approve of the postulant, a fully indoctrinated member may act as a sponsor and the postulant is promoted to a novice. Novices are allowed to wear white veils and whiteface make-up. This phase lasts another six months during which the novice is expected to work within the organization and plan an event. If three-fourths of the order agrees, the novice is promoted to a full member of the group.
After their inception, the Sisters soon spread to other cities within the U.S. as a loosely connected network of mostly autonomous houses. There are thirteen houses and six missions in various cities across the U.S. Globally, 600 members work for established houses or missions in Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Chapters founded outside the United States would also become involved in local issues. Whilst the United Kingdom chapter was involved in protests against police hostility towards the lesbian and gay community and safe-sex education, the chapter was also involved in campaigning unrelated to LGBT+ issues, such as protests against Poll Tax, the Gulf War, and the 1984–85 UK miners' strike.
The San Francisco Founding House anchors much of the activities and continues to be the largest and most well-funded. The San Francisco House (SPI, Inc.) also holds the registered trademarks for "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" and the "laughing nun head" logo.
In San Francisco, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence not only made their first appearance but also became interwoven in the cultural and political fabric of the city, according to scholar Cathy Glenn in the journal Theory and Event. Glenn uses the examples of San Francisco as a society of hyperpluralism, where all the groups who have called the city their home have successfully maintained their individual identities, creating a culture defined by counterculture and at times marked by political violence. The Sisters use Catholic imagery as simultaneous inspiration and fodder for parody through camp. They choose names based on the process of renaming women inducted into Catholic orders, but that suggest sexual promiscuity or that are based in absurdity: Sister Anita Blowjob, Sister GladAss of the Joyous Reserectum, Sister Hellena Handbasket, Sister Sensible Shoes, and Sister Homo Celestial, among others. They wear wimples, habits, and robes of nuns, but accessorize them with baubles, beads, and whiteface make-up. Sister Phyllis Stein, the Fragrant Mistress of Sistory, asserts that there is a clear distinction between drag queens and members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence: "We're not dressed as girls, we're dressed as nuns... We definitely minister to the spiritual needs of our community, while drag queens sort of focus on camp and fun within our communities. We're very different communities. A lot of people refer to us as drag queens, but we say we're in nun drag. We are nuns."
Activism
AIDS education
The organization of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence occurred at the same time HIV/AIDS began appearing in the Castro District and New York City. Safe havens during the AIDS crisis came in the form of bars such as Maud's and Amelia's, but these were shut down, as at the time many people believed bars were places were everyone had AIDS or could get it very easily. Some of the earliest attempts to bring attention to the new disease were staged by the Sisters, both in and out of costume. During the pandemic, the Sisters tried to fill the supportive role for the LGBTQ community that churches, the government, and families had repudiated. The Sisters staged one of the earliest fundraisers for HIV/AIDS in June 1982, and continued to raise money through the 1980s for AIDS victims.
In 1982, Sister Florence Nightmare, RN (early AIDS activist and registered nurse Bobbi Campbell) and Sister Roz Erection (Baruch Golden, a registered nurse) joined with a team of Sisters and medical professionals to create "Play Fair!", the first safer sex pamphlet to use plain language, practical advice and humor. A founder of the Sisters considered "Play Fair!" to be "one of the Order's greatest achievements in community education and support". The zine was illustrated with comics of nuns, colored in black, white, and pink, and was one of the few campaigns at the time to use humor, rather than rules and sex negativity, to talk about AIDS and STIs. The pamphlet included a section on Kaposi’s sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia, two symptoms of what would later be described as AIDS, explaining them as part of a host of severe immune system problems that had started to affect some gay men in large cities over the previous two years. The pamphlet also explained gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, hepatitis, venereal warts, scabies, crabs, and intestinal parasites. One notable inclusion in its STI list was the psychological impact of "guilt." The pamphlet explained guilt's symptoms as "feeling bad after a trip to the baths, bushes, or tearooms; low self-esteem. Seldom asymptomatic" with the cure: "respect and love yourself and others."
During the 1980s, other chapters of the Sisters adapted "Play Fair!" and created new safer sex outreach materials. The Toronto chapter produced two "Cum Clean" STI pamphlets, with comic cover images of the nuns, as well as "Perpetually Indulgent Rainchecks" to destigmatize discussing STI checkups and safer sex while waiting for results. In 1999, for the Sisters' 20th anniversary the "Play Fair!" pamphlet was revised. The Sisters worldwide continue to raise awareness of sexual health; many Orders regularly pass out condoms and participate in events to educate people on sexual health issues.
Political activism, protest, and religious parodies
Once founded in 1979, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence attracted local attention by attending major LGBTQ events in the Castro District dressed as Catholic nuns.
In 1982, Jack Fertig, known as Sister Boom Boom, ran for San Francisco Board of Supervisors earning over 23,000 votes with her occupation listed as "Nun of the Above". San Francisco passed a law soon after, commonly called the "Sister Boom Boom Law", that all people running for office had to do so with their legal name.
The same year the Sisters attended a Mass at Cathedral of Saint Mary, after which the local Catholic newspaper The Monitor stated the group was degrading towards Catholic nuns, citing Sister Boom Boom's name, and Sister Hysterectoria's. In response to the Sisters' presence in St. Mary's Cathedral, the Archbishop of San Francisco John R. Quinn issued a pastoral letter, stating that the Church condemns homosexual activity, but that homosexual people have to be provided "sound pastoral care" and are ultimately "no different than other Christians", that it was a Christian duty to "stand up against violence directed toward gays and to protect gay civil rights", and that harassment or persecution of homosexual people is incompatible with the Gospel. Some activists praised the letter or considered it "an encouraging sign", while others were critical of it; the Bay Area Reporter criticized it for upholding the traditional church line and suggested that despite a seemingly supportive letter, Quinn still condemned homosexuality in the hope of receiving a "major papal appointment".
Outlined as one of the Sisters' missions "to promulgate universal joy and to expiate stigmatic guilt", the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have a history of bringing attention to conservative movements that attempt to shame members of the LGBT community or people with HIV/AIDS. Sisters performed a public exorcism of anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly that was deliberately timed to take place at Union Square during the 1984 Democratic National Convention, taking place in San Francisco. A Sister dressed as Schlafly was held down as another spoke to the crowd, and other Sisters pulled out rubber snakes from the mock-Schlafly's clothing. Also taking place was Jerry Falwell's Family Forum, hosted by the Moral Majority whose major planks focused on condemning homosexuality, pornography, and abortion. A Sister dressed as Falwell was undressed during the performance to reveal fishnet stockings and a corset in front of an audience of 2,000.
Halloween
Celebrated even when the Castro was predominantly an Irish Catholic family neighborhood, as the demographics transformed, Halloween in the Castro became a major city event, described by author David Skal as "gay high holy day", attracting thousands of outsiders. On October 31, 1989, two weeks after San Francisco was devastated by the 6.9 MW Loma Prieta earthquake, the Sisters used donation buckets to collect thousands of dollars for the mayor's Earthquake Relief Fund from the Halloween crowds that poured into the Castro neighborhood for the massive street party.
The next year, the Sisters, with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and a group named Community United against Violence, took over the organization of the event for the next five years, drawing larger crowds and collecting for AIDS charities. By 1994 between 300,000 and 400,000 people attended the event. Controlling excesses became too difficult. Violence escalated, claimed by Dahn Van Laarz (Sister Dana van Iquity) to be the result of inebriated onlookers motivated by homophobia. When the police confiscated an AK-47 from a reveler trying to gain access to Castro Street, and they reported that 50 to 60 people had been arrested, the Sisters decided to move the celebration and Halloween in the Castro ended. The next year, the Sisters hosted a costume-mandatory dance named HallowQueen in a South of Market gay nightclub, which raised over $6,000 for charity.
A decade later the city was still struggling to manage the Halloween event. In 2006 nine people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the celebration; it was canceled in 2007. The Sisters continued to organize private and safe events, raising money every year for charity.
Community involvement
The Sisters have been involved in various causes, including the promotion of safer sex, raising money for HIV/AIDS and breast cancer research, the Gay Games, Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, and raising the "first legal $1,000" for a city proposition to legalize medical cannabis. Sister Roma organized a "Stop the Violence" campaign in the Castro where the Sisters distributed placards in homes and businesses to signify which were safe places to go, and whistles to be used to alert those nearby in case of attack. They have sponsored dances for LGBT youth, and given to or worked for a variety of similar objectives.
According to Jessi Knippel, the Sisters also engage in "missionary" and care work for the LGBT community, participating in "bar missions" in which the members of the organisation share care bags and pamphlets. The self-declared goal of the Sisters is to assist the LGBT community and offer it "absolution from guilt".
"Saints" and "angels"
Over the years the Sisters have named as saints hundreds of people who have helped on various projects behind the scenes organizing, coordinating actions or projects, performing at events as an artist or emcee or even serving the greater LGBT community. Rarely but sometimes they canonize community heroes who have recently died. It is customary for the Sisters to award sainthood with the addition of an elaborate "saint name". Notable saints include:
Assassinated San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk
California State Senator Carole Migden
Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco (later lieutenant governor and then governor of California)
Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, New York
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano
Harry Hay, founder of the radical faeries
Authors Armistead Maupin and Tonne Serah
Actresses Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin, Ethel Merman, and Rosie O'Donnell
Dr. Elizabeth Stuart, professor of Christian Theology at King Alfred's College, Winchester
Medical cannabis activist Brownie Mary
Filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman
French photographer Jean-Baptiste Carhaix
Mabel Teng, former City Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco
Rob Halford, lead singer of Judas Priest