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.
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.Leyand, p. 31–34. 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.Gold, Herbert (November 6, 1977), "A Walk on San Francisco's Gay Side", The New York Times, p. SM17. 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.de Strange, p. 49, 77.Leyland, p. 87. 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.Leyland, p. 201–202.
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.Wilcox 2018, p. 31-33 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.Wilcox 2018, p. 33-34 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.Sistory, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence website. Retrieved on September 12, 2009.Wilcox 2018, p. 34 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.Wilcox 2018, p. 36-38 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".Wilcox 2018, p. 39-40
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.Wilcox 2018, p. 40-41 The next day at a larger evangelical event including a Christian band the sisters joined in the dancing and flirted with the evangelists.Wilcox 2018, p. 42
In October 1980, the dozen or so Sisters held their first fundraiser, a bingo game and a disco and salsa dance that was well-attended in large part because of the write-up in The San Francisco Chronicle by Herb Caen the same day, who printed their organization name, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The benefit was for San Francisco's Metropolitan Community Church gay Cuban refugee program, and it netted $1,500 ($ in 2022).Leyland, p. 203.Wilcox 2018, p. 43
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.Becoming a Nun, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence website. Retrieved on September 23, 2009.
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.May, Meredith (October 17, 2007). "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have history of charity, activism", The San Francisco Chronicle, p. A12. Retrieved on September 12, 2009. 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.World Orders , Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence website. Retrieved on September 23, 2009.
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."
Sister Irma Geddon of the Portland, Oregon-based Order of Benevolent Bliss offered her view of the efficacy of using nun's clothing and drag: "The lightness of everything, in addition to the whiteface and the nun's habits, are a mechanism to reach out to people. When we're dressed up like that, kind of like sacred clowns, it allows people to interact with us."
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.
Play Fair!