The Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence,
Order of the Moist Brollie

By Victoria Pride Contributing Writer

“The point of the sisterhood is to bring universal joy and try to eradicate stigmatic guilt,” says Sister Vera Tooche. She is one of the founding members of the Order of the Moist Brollie, the Victoria chapter of the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence. This international collective of queer and trans drag nuns started in 1979 in San Francisco and has since spread across the world.

“I happened to meet a few sisters at a retreat, and we started talking and we seemed to have some parallel wants for our community,” says Tooche. “I was by myself for a while, then the other sisters sort of found me, and we formed the house we have here.”

That was almost four years ago. Since then, the order has worked hard to make meaningful contributions to the queer community in Victoria and beyond.

“At first, we did a lot of going out and ministering to the drunk at the bar, hearing their thoughts, and trying to raise money for various community resources. For us, the big ones are the PWA, the Persons Living with AIDS/HIV Society, as well as PEERS.”

The genesis of the original sisterhood coincided closely with the beginning of the AIDS crisis of the ‘80s. Though a lot of good work has been done to destigmatize the disease and to assist those who have been affected, many people are still working tirelessly to this day to see those efforts through.

The sisters are a fixture at Vic Pride and many other queer events in the area. They can be seen spreading the good word and collecting donations for various causes. Tooche says that they are also working on other plans to help the community.

“Something that’s put on hold is the community calendar, a hub where we reach out and network with all the organizations in Greater Victoria, even on the island, and put all the events into one place, which will be showcased on our websites.”

Once the crisis lets up and more events start to happen, they hope to get the project rolling. “We want to support these events by creating awareness that they’re happening,” says Tooche.

Tooche explains that it’s been difficult to champion their causes when the sisters are unable to go out “in face,” but that they’re ready to go back to work once the crisis is over. “Just doing what we do, making sure the community knows that we didn’t go away. The work for us doesn’t change too much; it’s just going out and talking to people.”

The sisterhood is still hoping to grow and is always looking to recruit new members.

“Honestly, show up,” says Tooche. “Come to meetings; see if it’s right for you. Try putting on a face and see if it’s comfortable. Just explore what it is and what kind of nun you want to be. What is your passion? What do you want to support? We can be a train wreck somedays; just have fun with it. We know it’s a gong show—it’s hilarious!”

Order of the Moist Brollie
PWA
PEERS

 

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