When we first looked at publishing Loverboy, there were two communities sitting right at the top of our ‘Must’ list – The Radical Faeries & The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence. The Faeries are on their way but in our latest issue we caught up with one of the most prominent figures of the Sisterhood, Sister Roma, to explain more…

Order Loverboy Issue #3 here.
Photo by Toby.

OK, first up, I think it’s important you educate those still in the dark. Who are The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence?
Well, the Sisters first manifested on Easter 1979, wearing old nuns’ habits they had ‘borrowed’ from a convent in Iowa. They basically went out to the Castro area of San Francisco to fuck with people – it was guerrilla theatre at its best. People’s reactions ranged from vitriolic disdain to wild enthusiasm and they realized they were onto something. They came up with the name Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the rest is history.
When I joined the Order there were six of us, all in San Francisco. Today the World Order has grown to hundreds of Sisters in dozens of Houses on four continents. Being such recognisable activists, we are all easy targets in danger of harassment and physical violence but there is no denying that being a Sister is easier in some places than others.  I’m especially proud of my Sisters in South America who are risking their lives with every manifestation.

What was your drag act like before you joined the Order?
My drag ‘act,’ if you can call it that, is not going to land me on RuPaul’s Drag Race anytime soon. Whenever anyone books me for a gig I tell them, ‘You do know I don’t really do anything, right?’ I don’t lip-sync, I sure as hell don’t sing live but I am a kick-ass MC. As soon as I joined the Sisters they put me on the mic and before I knew it I was hosting all the major LGBT events in San Francisco. My favorite Sister events that I emcee every year are the Hunky Jesus contest and Project Nunway. One of the biggest honours I’ve ever received was being elected Community Grand Marshal at SF Pride in 2012.

Follow Roma on Twitter.