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Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

1979 establishments in California1979 in LGBT historyAmerican community activistsAmerican drag queensAmerican satirists
Anti-Catholicism in the United StatesCulture of San FranciscoDrag groupsGay culture in the United StatesGenderqueerHistory of LGBT civil rights in the United StatesLGBT and CatholicismLGBT culture in San FranciscoLGBT history in San FranciscoLGBT political advocacy groups in the United StatesNon-profit organizations based in CaliforniaOrganizations established in 1979Performance artist collectivesService organizations based in the United States

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), also called Order of Perpetual Indulgence (OPI) is a charity, protest, and street performance organization that uses drag and religious imagery to call attention to sexual intolerance and satirizes issues of gender and morality. Upon their move to San Francisco from Iowa City in 1979, a small group of gay men in San Francisco began wearing the attire of nuns in visible situations using camp to draw attention to social conflicts and problems in the Castro District. The Sisters have grown throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and South America, and are currently organized as an international network of orders, which are mostly non-profit charity organizations that raise money for AIDS, LGBT-related causes, and mainstream community service organizations, while promoting safer sex and educating others about the harmful effects of drug use and other risky behaviors. In San Francisco alone where they continue to be the most active, between 1979 and 2007 the Sisters are credited with raising over $1 million for various causes, or almost $40,000 on average per year.Early members of the group, while not hiding their masculine features or facial hair, are characterized by San Francisco gay community historian Susan Stryker as the embodiment of "genderfuck". Their appearance has changed over the years; the nun motif remains the same, but it has been joined with exaggerated make-up that accentuates the rebellion against gender roles and religion.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Castro Street, San Francisco

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N 37.759614 ° E -122.435098 °
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Castro Street 584
94114 San Francisco
California, United States
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Rainbow Honor Walk

The Rainbow Honor Walk (RHW) is a walk of fame installation in San Francisco, California to honor notable lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals from around the world "who left a lasting mark on society." Its bronze plaques honor LGBTQ individuals who "made significant contributions in their fields". The plaques mark a walk located within the business district of the Castro neighborhood, which for decades has been the city's center of LGBTQ activism and culture.The project was founded by David Perry to honor LGBTQ pioneers, who are considered to have laid the groundwork for LGBTQ rights, and to teach future generations about them. The sidewalk installations are planned to extend from the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy at 19th Street & Collingwood, to proceed along Castro Street to its intersection with Market Street, and follow Market to the San Francisco LGBTQ Community Center at Octavia Boulevard; additionally the Walk will branch out in both directions at 18th Street and Castro. The RHW eventually could number up to 500 honorees. The first round of twenty plaques was installed in 2014, a second round of twenty-four was completed in 2019. A separate sidewalk installation, the Castro Street History Walk, is a series of twenty historical fact plaques about the neighborhood—ten from pre-1776 to the 1960s before the Castro became known as a gay neighborhood, and ten "significant events associated with the queer community in the Castro"—contained within the 400 and 500 blocks of the street between 19th and Market streets.

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Pink Triangle Park

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