In 2025, I spent the weeks leading up to the "Hunky Jesus" easter celebration getting to know the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an order of queer and trans nuns. This included touring their archive of artifacts from queer history in San Francisco, getting ready with one of the nuns of the order, and attending several ceremonies big and small which the nuns presided over. I got to know Shalita Corndog, one of the nuns of the order, and discussed at great length the status and mission of this group of activists, pranksters, and queer individuals of all stripes. This is the resulting photo story.
The outcome of my time with the sisters was a collection of mundane moments from decidedly non-mundane individuals—a mixture of quiet, strange, and chaotic scenes that mirror the organization that bore them. What stood out to me was the depth of history contained within the order—from early sex education pamphlets the sisters distributed in the Castro district, to hearing the sisters' perspective on the struggles queer people face in modern times, I got the sense that whatever we were experiencing now, the sisters had experienced it in some form before.
Stories
Personal Project
2025
San Franciso
Protesters and fans take photos of the sisters at the national day of action protesting the Trump government & Elon Musk in San Francisco, Calif, Saturday, April 5, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Ephemera from 46 years of gay & trans history in the archives of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. San Francisco, Calif. April 6th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Sister Mary Media models a mixed-media coat embroidered and collaged with photography that was made by Bill Bowers. Bill was a costume artist and theater performer, and friend of the Sister of Perpetual Indulgence. San Francisco, Calif. April 6th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Sister Shalita Corndog getting ready for a silent procession in her Pacific Heights apartment. Shalita plays Dolly Parton while putting on her face. San Francisco, Calif. April 19th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Sister Shalita Corndog putting on her nun’s wimple, the iconic headdress of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Behind her is the wimple decorated with the trans-pride colors that Sister Shalita will wear in the Easter celebration the next day. San Francisco, Calif. April 19th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Sister Shalita Corndog driving to join the other Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for a silent procession through the Mission and Castro districts. As we drove, multiple people waved at Shalita, one man pulling alongside her and blowing a kiss. San Francisco, Calif. April 19th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Nuns of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during a ceremony to Saint Shane Zaldivar, a Manager of Training and Education in the Office of Transgender Initiatives in San Francisco Government. The ceremony was one of many at the Hunky Jesus competition, held each year on the Easter Sunday anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in 1979. San Francisco, Calif. April 20th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Sister Mary Media with a framed copy of “Play Fair,” a 1982 pamphlet produced by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence that is credited as being the first pamphlet ever to focus on safe sex. The pamphlet includes a list of sexually transmitted diseases, including “Kaposi's Sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia.” Kaposi's Sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia were both symptoms of AIDS, which wasn’t widely understood at the time the pamphlet was published. San Francisco, Calif. April 6th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Sister Shalita Corndog in Presidio Kebab, a Pacific Heights favorite of hers. Shalita is friends with the owner and wait-staff, and they chatted with them about what menu items they each preferred. San Francisco, Calif. May 5th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Detail of a coat made by Bill Bowers from the archive of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Bill was a well-known costume artist and theater performer in the 70s, and friend of the Sisters. The coat is a mixed media collage of beads, different fabrics, and photographs of the Sisters throughout history. San Francisco, Calif. April 6th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Jezabelle Of the Enraptured Sling (front, reclining on a couch) with several other sisters relaxing in the sun in front of the stage, taking a break from their official duties at the Hunky Jesus competition. Hunky Jesus is held each year on Easter Sunday, which is the day that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were officially founded in 1979. San Francisco, Calif. April 20th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
“Wild West, Cowboy Carter Jesus,” winner of the Hunky Jesus competition, in disco heels on a disco bison on stage. Hunky Jesus is held each year on Easter Sunday, which is the day that the Sister’s we officially founded in 1979. San Francisco, Calif. April 20th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
Sister Roma (red, second left) introduces “Fuck Donald Trump Jesus” (shirtless, center) at the Hunky Jesus competition in Dolores park, surrounded by other Jesus contenders. Hunky Jesus is held each year on Easter Sunday, which is the day that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were officially founded in 1979. San Francisco, Calif. April 20th, 2025.
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2025
San Francisco
A statue of a rhinoceros with a bedazzled horn and eyelash extensions, draped in clothes and beads in the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence archive. The archive is full of ephemera like this from 46 years of gay & trans history. San Francisco, Calif. April 6th, 2025.