A long long time ago (almost 100 years ago to be exact) some gays and lesbians began organizing, re-thinking, supporting each other, and making baby steps towards what we now call Gay Pride.  The history of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a wonderful and rich part of that history, with deeply embedded roots in those who came before us.  To understand The Sisters, one needs a basic understanding of the times in which they were born.

Until the late 1960s gay activists largely focused on gaining society's acceptance by showing the general public that 'they had nothing to fear' from homosexuals.  Assimilation was the game plan.  The Mattachine Society, founded in the 1950s by the legendary Harry Hay, made tremendous gains in that pursuit.  Profoundly enough, Hay named the organization after groups of unmarried males in renaissance France, who performed public dances and rituals, often criticizing oppressive laws and the hypocrisy of society, while wearing elaborate masks, to conceal identity, and to make their message more universal.

By the late 1960s however, to quote Dylan, 'the times they are a-changin'.  Gays and lesbians had seen the progress of the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Movement, and those landmark strides did not fall on deaf gay and lesbian ears.  Race riots and a more confrontational demand for rights and change permeated society by the end of the decade.  Then in June of 1969, during the predawn hours of a routine police raid on The Stonewall, a gay bar in Greenich Village, some gays had finally had enough and fought back.  The Gay Rights Movement was born.

What followed were ten years of unprecedented visibility, openness, and challenges to sexual morals across the board.  In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses.  San Francisco had become the home of an entire generation of gays and lesbians seeking to form community, revel in their new found freedom, and demand equality.  Groups such as the Radical Faeries, who challenged traditional stereotypes of masculinity and spirituality had grown strong.  By the late seventies gay activists like Harvey Milk, and homophobes like Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell had become part of daily evening news.  With every step forward came a backlash from the right-wing.  Just as at Stonewall, many queers had decided that assimilation was not the answer.  The answer lie in not blending in, but in being as bold, free, proud and shameless in being gay as possible, as the problem was not within, but in society

In the midst of all this, over Easter weekend, 1979, in the Castro district of San Francisco, a few fun-loving and daring gay men took some old nun habits from a production of The Sound of Music, and went out into the streets to challenge society, and ended up changing the world.  'White face' became a ritual of ministry, masking the Sister, yet allowing for self expression, and allowing others to reveal themselves in a spirit of freedom and safety.  Traditional religious orders were re-thought and reinvented as a ministry for the gay and lesbian community.  The Sisters were born!

Over the next ten years, the order grew, defined itself, and continued to fight for queer rights, raise funds for a multitude of charities, and bring joy, love, comfort and acceptance where it was needed most. Sometimes gently, and sometimes radically and 'in-your-face'.  When the AIDS epidemic spread across the country in the early 1980s, the Sisters work and presence became even more vital.  Education and love amidst HIV became a cornerstone of what it meant to be a Sister.  For over three decades, Sisters from orders throughout the world have been 'Disturbing the Comfortable and Comforting the Disturbed'.  Lives have been saved, and those who for whatever reason have been outcast from society, have lived with the full dignity, grace, and celebration they deserve.

The Sin Sity Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were formed in Las Vegas in 2005.  Mother Loosy Lust Bea Lady and some close friends, all with activist and volunteering backgrounds, went out into Las Vegas, and began the mission of love, no shame, no guilt and ultimately the Sisters AIDS Drug Assistance Program.  The Sisters Red Dress Event has become one of the landmark and most highly anticipated events in the city.  The Sisters strive to be all-inclusive, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, social, spiritual or cultural differences.  The Sisters attempt to bless, listen, reach out, and celebrate the fact that by being who we are, as nature made us, we gain grace and redemption.  We are proud to have become part of the fabric of fun and glitz that Las Vegas offers, as well as bringing a more thought provoking message of love.  Viva Las Vegas and may our veils forever fly in neon!