community spotlight by david vera
You’ve seen them around the gayborhood. You’re reluctant to inquire about
them, but insatiably curious. The semi-recognizable religious symbols and intri-
cately painted faces invoke questions that you’re ultimately disinclined to ask.
Have no fear, salvation is here!
Sister Iona Dubble-Wyde of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence has hit the
streets. As an honorary spreader of joy, she offers her wisdom and guidance—
and you don’t even have to recite any hymns for her! Apparently being a sister is
different for every person. There are as many interpretations for being a sister as
there are people actively involved in the order.
“We all take vows to promulgate of universal joy and to expiate stigmatic guilt
through public manifestation and habitual perpetration,” explained Iona. “…and
to be dedicated to whatever you believe in as a deity, your sisters and your com-
munity. It’s a personal spiritual journey. Some of our sisters are agnostic. Some
are atheist. Some are catholic. Some are pagan. If you don’t want to believe in
anything, that’s cool too!”
The sisters know it’s hard to raise money in San Diego, so the local branch, or
“mission,” focuses on street ministry—this includes safer sex and harm reduction
lessons to slow the spread of STDs and helping San Diego County Health Depart-
ment with their Syphilis screening campaign.
“We also do street safety—we have cards that we hand out: ‘Top ten ways clever
sluts and hoes stay alive” or “top ten ways clever drag queens stay alive.’ They’ll
have ten self-defense techniques on them.”
Iona isn’t simply a strutting information stand with great accessories. She also
serves the emotional side of outreach.
“Sometimes people will come up to us and, because the image of the nun is
so powerful, they’ll basically give us a confession right there on the street,” said
Iona. “By listening and being there, we’re helping them have some sort of joyful
memory. You just listen to their story, they’ll give you a hug and go on their own
way.” Iona recalls her first encounter with the sisters as an unexpected but wel-
comed surprise, “It was my very first Pride festival here in San Diego—when I was
18 or 19. Because I’m extremely white, I’d turned very red by the middle of the day.
All of a sudden this man came up behind me, pulled me around and there was
this wall of orange and a little short pink thing. One had a bottle of sun tan lotion
and the other had aloe vera. They were Sister Unity and Sister Buffy from the Los
Angeles Sisters. They said, ‘Child, you need this!’ At that point, I became fascinated
with the Sisters.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I was a homeless 20-year-old HIV-positive
drug addict. Nine years later, I’m an activist community organizer. I just want to
let people know that they don’t have to make the same mistakes I made. [Being a
sister] takes dedication; wanting to do something better for the community—but
also to do it selflessly. The point of the white face and being a sister is to separate
your ego from the actual work so the importance is always on spreading joy. As a
Iona
boy, I can’t go out there and say I’ve done X, Y and Z, because technically I haven’t
done it—Sister Iona has.”
Regarding the sisters’ notoriously motley names, one of the more ambiguous
Dubble-Wyde
meanings is Iona’s name: Iona Dubble-Wyde.
of the SiSterS
“Do I own a double-wide trailer?” teased Iona. “Do I have double-wide body
parts? It’s open for interpretation! I don’t tell people anything. It’s up to them to
of PerPetual indulgence
figure it out. We try to encourage people to pick their own name. Some are lucky
enough to be bestowed a name. We have a sister who, when it was time for her to that we’re safe from people who might become belligerent or violent. Whereas if
announce her name, she said, ‘I don’t know what my name’s going to be.’ So we we’re at a gay bar, the guard is there to keep the public safe from us! Sometimes a
said, ‘Well, your name’s Ida Know!’” nun gets a little drunk, they might get a little too touchy-feely and the guard says,
If you notice, some members of the order are dressed slightly differently from ‘No no no, sister. You can’t do that!’”
the sisters. These men are known as guards and Iona states their position clearly, There’s a sense of relief in knowing that we have real-life angels watching over
“When we go to a foreign location—say, a straight bar—the guard’s making sure us…making sure we don’t feel guilty about our wicked side.
58 RAGE monthly | MAY 2009
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