I am not new to seeing men in drag. My roommate/best friend is gay and we frequent the Hillcrest area, which is always a new and exciting experience. This includes: men in leather, men in drag, men as women, women as men, and the sexually ambiguous- not saying that there aren't normal looking people, they just aren't as exciting. One group of 'ladies' that I have frequently seen, from afar, look like what seem to be Catholic nuns. Upon further investigation, they are clearly not women. But, in fact, men in insanely heavy make-up and habits. Some even have beards. They are called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Sisters are an international organization that calls attention to sexual intolerance and gender inequality. One of their main focuses are promoting safe sex, as well as providing education about drug use and other risky health behaviors. They mimic real nuns by dressing in habits and other nun-like apparel whenever they are out, but unlike real nuns, they are satirizing gender and morality. If you disregard how many people they might be offending, it is a very interesting health marketing tactic. Their non-conventional dress elicits a lot of inquiries, and therefore brings attention to these issues. They are very 'fabulous,' if you will, and they always walk around in group, which catches the attention of everyone within eyesight. When I first saw them, I asked my roommate, "what the..." then he told me about them, then i wiki-d them to learn more information. I am sure information is disseminated in this way for anyone who sees them. Dressing up with all that make-up seems incredibly time consuming, but their dedication to health is awesome. The reach of the Sisters may not be extraordinary, but they are growing and each person that is educated is valuable, and hopefully, one less [that is unaware about safe sex, unaware of the effects of STI's, that is a pregnant teenager, that becomes infected with HIV, that makes a poor health decision, that gets cervical cancer].
No comments:
Post a Comment