If you’ve ever seen a loud gaggle of nuns of various genders in white face paint, you’ve come across the Blue Suede Sisters, one house of the international Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, known for their community service and advocacy (and outlandish drag). And if you haven’t met them yet, you’re missing out.
Originally from California, Blue Suede Abbess Krisco Kringle says, “Since I was probably in my late 20s, I wanted to be a sister because I admired the work they do. But I was never in the right career, time, city, and I’m in Memphis working and I’m in one of the local bars and sisters walk in, and I was like, ‘Oh. My. God.’ … I said, ‘I’m joining now.’ For me, it’s the impact they have on society and people, and my personal mission is to spread joy [and] bring smiles.”
A few years later, sisters Twinkle VanWinkle and Kat Ion would feel a similar calling. “I have seen sisters and known about them probably since the early ’90s, late ’80s, somewhere in there,” says Twinkle, but she admits that she assumed the group was only for gay men. However, after reaching out to the group about hosting a volunteer event, they explained that the sisterhood is open to anyone, no matter their gender, sexuality, age, religion, etc., and before Twinkle knew it, she was going through the process of becoming a sister herself. “Once a sister gets her little claws in you,” she says, “they just don’t ever let you go. Although Krisco really likes the clowning aspect, what really fills my heart when I work with the sisters is the fact that I have the opportunity to work with so many different charitable organizations and so many different groups. And the fact that we get to dress up and do silly things and get away with stuff that we’d never be able to get away with until we put that white makeup on, it’s an added bonus.”
Indeed, the group aligns itself with a number of community issues, from advocating for the unhoused community to marching for reproductive justice. “If there’s a protest or a need to bring attention to it, having a white-bearded man in a full-on nun outfit with white-face, it brings attention,” Krisco says.
“That is what we would call ministry of presence,” Twinkle adds. “We are present and using our presence to inform, educate, to make people smile. Krisco’s always got a joke or some smart-ass little comment to make. I’m always the one with business cards and contact info.”
“And I’m just running late walking in shoes that I can’t really walk in,” quips Kat.
Kat, for her part, is a novice, yet to become a full-fledged sister, and part of that process is coming up with a novice project for the community’s behalf. Serendipitously, a representative from the Museum of Science & History had reached out for the group’s insight for its exhibition about LGBTQ+ history in Memphis, “Memphis Proud.”
“They said, ‘We want the sisters to be involved,’” Kat says, “And I said, ‘Well, I could sorta do chemistry while dressed up.’” And what unfolded are the Cocktails & Chemistry sessions, at which Kat, as part of her novice project, will lead participants through “actual, real experiments. It’s very college-level and intense, but it’s none of the hard stuff, none of the math, none of the ‘Oh my god, I’m going to fail,’ none of that. It’s all the fun stuff. Without giving too much away, we’re just doing some really cool stuff with metal — stuff that you wouldn’t think that anyone would let me play with but they do.
“I like to tell people I’m not a mad scientist. I’m a bad scientist.”
In fact, this attitude inspired Kat’s name choice. She explains, “In science, a positive or negatively charged molecule is known as an ion. If it’s a positive ion, it’s known as a cation. If it’s a negatively charged molecule, it’s an anion. I feel like a cation. If it’s positive that means it’s lost electrons, so I’m a few electrons short of a whole atom.”
“We agree with you, but only in love,” Twinkle adds. “Which is why Sister Krisco and I will be mingling and enjoying the signature cocktails while Sister Kat deals with all the chemicals far, far away.”
As such before the experiments, participants will get a chance to mingle and enjoy cocktails with the sisters. Tickets for the 21+ event on Friday, August 19th, can be purchased here. Two sessions will be available to choose from, one at 6 p.m., the other at 8 p.m. Another set of Cocktails & Chemistry sessions will be held on September 16th.
In the meantime, the sisters are hard at work preparing a sexual health educational session for young people in the fall, as well as a job fair for previously incarcerated people. And they’ll be making an appearance at Memphis Public Libraries’ Pride Kickoff at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library on September 3rd. To keep up with the sisters, visit bluesuedesisters.org.
Cocktails & Chemistry, Museum of Science & History, Friday, August 19, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., $25, 21+.