Sisters of the Commonwealth                                                                      

There are approximately 3000 Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence worldwide with 14 members in the Boston area. For two and a half years I have walked in Pride Parades with them, yelled and screamed encouragements alongside them at Boston’s annual AIDS Walk, accompanied them to fancy fundraising dinners at city hotels, brought friends to their monthly charity Drag Bingo events and sailed with them while they sold raffle tickets on Boston Harbor cruises. 

Although the Sisters were immediately welcoming to me — photographing them pushed the edges of my comfort level for taking pictures of people in general, and a large group of men in particular. As a mutual trust developed, they accepted me as their “photo historian”. I have learned a great deal from watching as they manifest into “avatars” of social activism with the seemingly simple goal of inspiring acceptance, compassion and the desire to shift intolerant perspectives. Seeing the gamut of reactions, I have learned a great deal about the public’s ability and inability to do so.

Photographs, and the human stories behind them can be tools for inspiring compassion, shifting perspective, and supporting social change. I hope that by sharing these photographs of the Sisters with the public, that I am contributing and echoing their desire to build a better world.