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In
October
of 2008, Sister Ora Lee Wunderbar was
interviewed by Jonathan Yu, a
journalism student at Arizona State University. Below is the article.
Waiting in the dimly lit lounge of Icepics Video Bar for my profile subject, I couldn’t help but think back to the nuns I’d encountered attending a Catholic elementary school. With Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time blasting on the speakers the image of pious old ladies in large white habits praying rosaries in a secluded convent came to mind. My trip down memory lane was abruptly interrupted when Sister Ora Lee Wunderbar entered the room. Necks craned, eyes narrowed, and all fell silent as she entered the bar. There was a nun in the building.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a worldwide nonprofit organization that raises money and awareness for causes within their community. Its members dress in flamboyant and colorful outfits and wear heavy makeup and face paint, all while working it in steep heels that would make stiletto queen Mariah Carey faint. “A lot of people question if we’re pretending to be nuns,” Wunderbar said. “The truth is that we are nuns. The definition of a nun is someone who gives of themselves in service for a cause. That’s what we do.” Wunderbar explained that the roots of her sisterhood started in San Francisco in 1979 with five men living in a commune. Upset with the way homosexuals and HIV/AIDS were being treated at the time, they decided to wear nun costumes and march from the Castro down to the beach. “People say we do this to draw attention to ourselves,” Wunderbar said. “Of course we do. We’re trying to raise money and awareness for different causes and organizations.”
Despite their almost clown-like makeup, Wunderbar reveals that much of her distinct look comes
from legendary female impersonators as
well as other sisters. “Really for me a lot of the inspiration
performers like
Divine who had the more outrageous makeup,” Wunderbar said. “I tend to
draw
inspiration from other sisters as well.”
Although there are over 700 Sisters around the world, Wunderbar admits that her propensity for chatting has earned her a reputation among her sisters. “Ora Lee likes to talk,” she said. “So I got called The Mouth of the Southwest. That’s probably what sets me apart. I stand out in a crowd because I’m loud and outspoken. I don’t think I’m rude, but sometimes I overstep my boundaries.”
However, being a Sister isn’t all just fabulous fun and games.
A divided gay community here in Phoenix has Wunderbar confused and disappointed. “We’re very fractured and I don’t understand why,” Wunderbar said. “It’s almost like territories. These guys go to Kobalt, and these guys go to Amsterdam. The old guys don’t go to Amsterdam because that’s just wrong. We have a hard time getting our community to come together. The gay community is just like any other community. It’s got its cliques and it’s got its groups that get along and don’t get along.”
Still, Sister Wunderbar remains hopeful. “If we can bridge a gap within a little part of our community then that will help is bridge a gap to the outside community,” Wunderbar said. “I want people to understand that there’s not this community and that community, but a community.” The recent passage of Arizona’s Proposition 102 also has Wunderbar, who recently got engaged, very troubled.
“I don’t understand how Arizonans can be so blinded by faith in the media,” she said. “I can’t believe that people can’t think for themselves and would let their religion tell them how to vote. I think that’s wrong,” she said. “People are people. If the constitution gave us rights then the constitution gave us rights. It shouldn’t matter who you want to marry, but it should matter that we want to.”
After my short meeting with Sister Wunderbar I realized that nuns would never be the same for me. Gone were those black habits and old ladies.
-Jonathan Yu
Exequatur
and Pride 2008 Retrospective Waiting in the dimly lit lounge of Icepics Video Bar for my profile subject, I couldn’t help but think back to the nuns I’d encountered attending a Catholic elementary school. With Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time blasting on the speakers the image of pious old ladies in large white habits praying rosaries in a secluded convent came to mind. My trip down memory lane was abruptly interrupted when Sister Ora Lee Wunderbar entered the room. Necks craned, eyes narrowed, and all fell silent as she entered the bar. There was a nun in the building.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a worldwide nonprofit organization that raises money and awareness for causes within their community. Its members dress in flamboyant and colorful outfits and wear heavy makeup and face paint, all while working it in steep heels that would make stiletto queen Mariah Carey faint. “A lot of people question if we’re pretending to be nuns,” Wunderbar said. “The truth is that we are nuns. The definition of a nun is someone who gives of themselves in service for a cause. That’s what we do.” Wunderbar explained that the roots of her sisterhood started in San Francisco in 1979 with five men living in a commune. Upset with the way homosexuals and HIV/AIDS were being treated at the time, they decided to wear nun costumes and march from the Castro down to the beach. “People say we do this to draw attention to ourselves,” Wunderbar said. “Of course we do. We’re trying to raise money and awareness for different causes and organizations.”
Despite their almost clown-like makeup, Wunderbar reveals that much of her distinct look comes
from legendary female impersonators as
well as other sisters. “Really for me a lot of the inspiration
performers like
Divine who had the more outrageous makeup,” Wunderbar said. “I tend to
draw
inspiration from other sisters as well.” Although there are over 700 Sisters around the world, Wunderbar admits that her propensity for chatting has earned her a reputation among her sisters. “Ora Lee likes to talk,” she said. “So I got called The Mouth of the Southwest. That’s probably what sets me apart. I stand out in a crowd because I’m loud and outspoken. I don’t think I’m rude, but sometimes I overstep my boundaries.”
However, being a Sister isn’t all just fabulous fun and games.
A divided gay community here in Phoenix has Wunderbar confused and disappointed. “We’re very fractured and I don’t understand why,” Wunderbar said. “It’s almost like territories. These guys go to Kobalt, and these guys go to Amsterdam. The old guys don’t go to Amsterdam because that’s just wrong. We have a hard time getting our community to come together. The gay community is just like any other community. It’s got its cliques and it’s got its groups that get along and don’t get along.”
Still, Sister Wunderbar remains hopeful. “If we can bridge a gap within a little part of our community then that will help is bridge a gap to the outside community,” Wunderbar said. “I want people to understand that there’s not this community and that community, but a community.” The recent passage of Arizona’s Proposition 102 also has Wunderbar, who recently got engaged, very troubled.
“I don’t understand how Arizonans can be so blinded by faith in the media,” she said. “I can’t believe that people can’t think for themselves and would let their religion tell them how to vote. I think that’s wrong,” she said. “People are people. If the constitution gave us rights then the constitution gave us rights. It shouldn’t matter who you want to marry, but it should matter that we want to.”
After my short meeting with Sister Wunderbar I realized that nuns would never be the same for me. Gone were those black habits and old ladies.
-Jonathan Yu
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