Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - October 17, 2007
Meredith May, mmay@sfchronicle.com.
Mixing street theater, drag-queen elegance and community fundraising, the men of the Sisterhood support AIDS organizations, help combat hate crimes and, as they put it, "promote universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt."
"We are part of the modern gay rights movement," said Sister Kitty Catalyst of San Francisco. "We are not ashamed of our differences, we are proud of them."
Calling themselves 21st century nuns, the sisters have raised more than $1 million in San Francisco alone and have benefited such groups as the Breast Cancer Network, Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic and the Gay Games. The Sisters bring meals to the infirm and fund alternative proms for queer youth.
When the AIDS epidemic hit San Francisco in the early 1980s, the Sisters were among the first to act, distributing pamphlets that coined the term "safe sex" and visiting bathhouses to promote condom use.
The Sisters helped organize the first AIDS Candlelight Vigil, which has now become an international event, and one of the Sisters created the rainbow flag, which is now the defining symbol of the gay rights movement.
Castro Halloween, called off this year due to unruly crowds, was safely managed by the Sisters from 1990 to 1995. Today they host an annual children's Halloween party with performances and costume prizes so youngsters can have a safe holiday in the Castro.
Easter Sunday is a high holy day for the Sisters, but their celebration, which includes a "Hunky Jesus Contest" in Dolores Park, has been called blasphemous by some Catholics. In 1999, the Archdiocese argued unsuccessfully that the Sisters should move their 20th anniversary party to a different day.
That same year, the Sisters were invited to be grand marshals at Reno's first Gay Pride Parade, but were blocked when then-Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn denied the parade on the grounds the Sisters would offend Catholics.
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