How honoring LGBTQ+ activists led to a PR backlash for the LA Dodgers: 5 Things podcast special
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: SPECIAL: How honoring LGBTQ+ activists led to a PR backlash for the LA Dodgers
For its 10th annual Pride Night, the LA Dodgers wanted to give a nod to a group that has been advocating for the LGBTQ+ community for decades: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, most commonly known as the drag nuns. Then several conservative Catholic leaders complained. They were then joined by Republican politicians like Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio. The Dodgers responded by rescinding the invitation. A national and then international backlash followed. Ultimately, the Dodgers ended up apologizing and the Sisters were re-invited. Why have the Sisters been so polarizing? In today's show, we speak with Sister Unity, a founding member of the 27-year-old LA chapter who focuses her ministry on homeless youth.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Dana Taylor:
Hello and welcome to a special episode of 5 Things. I'm Dana Taylor. Thanks for joining me. Today we're trying something new, a bonus single topic episode that gives you a deeper dive into the news that matters. Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcasts@usatoday.com. Today we're talking about the LA Dodgers and its recognition of the LGBTQ+ community for Pride Month.
For its 10th annual Pride Night, the LA Dodgers wanted to give a nod to a group that has been advocating for the LGBTQ+ community for decades, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, most commonly known as the drag nuns. That would've been the end of it, but then several conservative Catholic leaders complained. They were joined by politicians like Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio. The Dodgers responded by rescinding the invitation. A national and international backlash followed. The Dodgers ended up apologizing and the sisters were re-invited.
Why have the sisters been so polarizing? To put this all in context, we're joined by Sister Unity. She's a founding member of the 27-year old LA chapter and focuses her ministry on homeless youth. Thanks for joining us, Sister Unity.
Sister Unity:
You're very welcome, Dana. It is lovely to see you.
Dana Taylor:
So initially the Dodgers invited you to Pride Night to honor you with an award. Then they dis-invited you. Then re-invited you. What happened?
Sister Unity:
Never a dull moment in the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. What happened was the Dodgers are not a monolith. It must be understood that the Dodgers administration itself involves members of our own LGBT community. So we understand that it is through some of the LGBT administration in the Dodgers organization that we were nominated for the award. It took us vastly by surprise because we are, I don't know if it's obvious, we do drag. And drag practitioners, particularly activists, not entertainers, are very used to being the first people who are cut from nationally visible circumstances. We're used to being dropped because we're quite frankly too weird, too strange, too queer. So we're used to that, and we're used to other people getting the accolades and not us because of this. So we were very surprised to receive the award at all. And it was the Community Hero Award, which focused on our 27 years of community service.
We are activists for LGBT rights, but 50 or sometimes 70% of our work is actually fundraising for LGBT charities. Anything from HIV and AIDS charities to people who, what I like to focus on, who are helping the 5 to 7,000 homeless youth on the streets of Los Angeles, 50% of whom identify as LGBTQ.
We've seen drag legislation, over 500 pieces of anti-drug legislation and anti-trans legislation in 19 different states in the last, what, six months. So there's been an extraordinary push on our community and our corner of our community lately.
So we knew when Marco Rubio put out his tweet that something was likely to happen. We're used to being in a position under the bus, if you will. And then the damn bust loose. And to my observation, I'm a student of history, it seems like a small revolution in American culture where drag is now not just left out because it's so unusual, but it's actually allowed to be at the spear front of a political upheaval, as sort of the cultural earthquakes that our country has always gone through, and we're surprised to find ourself as the focal point of that.
Dana Taylor:
You brought up critics like Florida Senator Marco Rubio and his tweet, also Florida Governor Ron DeSantis saying that your name and costumes are disrespectful of the church and their community. So if the senator and governor were listening to this program, what would you say to them?
Sister Unity:
First of all, just on a humorous note, I'd like to thank Marco Rubio for using the word diabolical. I've momentarily thought of maybe changing my name to Sister Diane Abolical, but I'll stick with Sister Unity. The main point is to do what many, many Catholic people have done over the years, and that is to come and talk to us and we would be happy to. I put out a tweet, in fact offering to fly on my own dime to Washington DC to meet with Senator Rubio and his staff.
We find that when people who are Catholic and get an immediate impression because of the look that our original sisters borrowed back in 1979 when we started, that gives them an emotional reaction. Then they talk to us and they ask, "What are you doing? Why do you look this way?" And we explain that we are queer nuns. We're LGBTQ nuns serving the LGBTQ community. And that's why, yes, the headpiece may look like a medieval French nun, but the rest looks absolutely gay, trans, queer if you will. We manifest in this very flamboyant way not to poke fun at anyone, but because this is what our community delights in. We delight in theater. We delight in glitter.
I personally decorate myself this way because I looked at these fairytale books when I was a kid that my mother bought me, and the fairy godmothers always were so resplendent and I just thrilled and I thought, "I want to look that way." And when I grew up and I had a chance to make myself up according to my own imagination, this is what I imagined and this I love. That's why I look this way, and I use it to serve our community because it gets people's attention. Then I can deliver a supportive message about them having room in the world to be who they are as they are, free from guilt, and with joy for their own life. And I can also get attention to ask for a few dollars, which then I pass on to charities. So if I can explain this to the senator and the governor, hopefully they will understand. Not everyone does.
Dana Taylor:
So the Dodgers issue got not only national attention, but international attention. How has that impacted the sisters and you personally?
Sister Unity:
We have received tens of thousands of dollars in donations more than we normally would've. We have handfuls more people applying for membership in our organization to help us serve. For me personally, I always wanted, always meant to use theatrics to change society for the better. And I could not have imagined my voice would be so amplified to so many millions of people to do just that.
Dana Taylor:
LGBTQ+ rights have broadly and widely been eroding across the country and the world in recent years. Politicians, Gov. Ron DeSantis and other conservatives are leading the charge. Human Rights Campaign just issued a scathing report saying that the LGBTQ+ community is living in a state of emergency due to an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults. What do you think is happening?
Sister Unity:
It is bizarre what is happening, and it is not just a shift to the right for the LGBT community. It is everyone. There are a lot of people putting out memes that hearken back to the era in Germany in 1933. And it is a time when we are seeing cultural similarities, political similarities. It's alarming. That said, this is who we are. We are born this way. We are not disappearing because of any pressure from the outside, no matter how hot it gets. So we will just keep on keeping on, being who we are as we can, helping each other and helping society as much as we can.
Dana Taylor:
The sisters are extremely active in their advocacy and ministry work in and around LA. What are the most important issues your group is working on and what are the biggest challenges?
Sister Unity:
The biggest issues have been the same for 27 years. HIV and AIDS, people are still getting sick and dying. The health of our community in general. Homeless LGBT youth. There are thousands of them and it's mind-boggling that they're on the streets. And the newer one, and most critical at this point, is making sure that our transgender community members have appropriate healthcare wherever they live, that they are recognized as part of our community and the broader community, and that their rights are not erased.
There was an incident in the middle of West Hollywood Pride where the LA Sheriff's Department abused a member of the transgender community and inappropriately arrested them. They're now out on bail, but it was an egregious treatment of someone who shouldn't have been. And we have to think that it is in part because of the fear and phobias around the transgender community. So these are our challenges and these are our causes.
Dana Taylor:
What gives you hope in working with the sisters?
Sister Unity:
Every time I put squiggles on my face and Swarovski crystals on my face and the hooby-dooby settles onto my skull with its ridiculous tassels, I am filled with so much happiness and joy and honest excitement that hitting the streets for whatever the cause becomes suffused with joy. Our hope really comes from our own selves, from our own imagination. And then when we get together, it definitely comes from the team. We delight in seeing what each other has created. We delight in each other's words. And we're really honestly strengthened by each other's firm commitment to the activism. When I see Sister Electra talking about transgender issues, it informs and inspires me to talk about transgender issues.
Dana Taylor:
I hear that when you joined, you had to pick a color, and yours as we can see is orange. Why is orange so special to you?
Sister Unity:
Well, I don't know if you can publish this, but the short answer is that if you squeeze me, you get juice. The real answer is when we had our first meeting, I brought a rainbow flag and I said, "Wouldn't it be cool if we all picked a color?" And they picked all the colors I wanted and I ended up with orange. But it turns out to be perfect for me because it's a little quirky, it's very forward and bright, but it's also the color worn by Hindu swamis and monks. And I practice Hinduism. I didn't realize that until 20 years down the road, but I'm very happy with it.
Dana Taylor:
And if you wanted people who are listening to walk away with one important nugget, perhaps something they didn't know before about the sisters, what would that be?
Sister Unity:
We're all very real people underneath the makeup. And we bring the realness of our hearts to what we do. And if you talk to us, you learn that. And the reason we look this way is to say that if we can express ourselves in this silly, colorful way, there's room for you to be who you are as you are, free from shame, and with love and joy for your own life.
Dana Taylor:
And finally, I'm afraid to ask this question. I hear that you have an eclectic collection. What is it a collection of and why?
Sister Unity:
I have three collections in my apartment, in my convent cell. One, comic books since I was five years old. And yes, that informed my aesthetic. Two, I collect crystals, especially fluorite. And three, I practice Hinduism, so I collect Hindu statues. They're so beautiful and beguiling to my imagination.
Oh, I'm sorry. The real answer to the question, how could I have forgotten? The real thing I collect is rubber chickens. I'd started when I used them in my ministry and people saw my videos and saw rubber chickens, and now I've got nuns and laypeople mailing me rubber chickens from all over the country. It's okay. I have Sister Unity's home for wayward rubber chickens. Here they can roam free and squawk all they wish.
Dana Taylor:
Well, I want to thank you for your time and for spending so much time with me today and with our entire team, Sister Unity. It's very much appreciated.
Sister Unity:
Dana, it has been a pleasure. Of all the interviews I've done, your voice is the most mellifluous.
Dana Taylor:
Thank you.
Thanks to Mark Sovel, Alexis Gustin and Cherie Saunders for their production assistance. Our senior producer is Shannon Rae Green and our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow with another episode of 5 Things.