How A Documentary Maker Joined The Order Of Sydney’s Most Famous Gay Nuns
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Alfie Faber didn’t mean to become a nun in the Order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, he just wanted to make a documentary.
He’s spent the past four years following the Gay Male Nuns and Lesbian Monks around on their exploits through Sydney, listening and preserving their stories before they’re lost to the passage of time.
Since the founding of the Sydney House in 1981, the Sisters have become a staple of queer resistance, fighting against religious and moral persecution in the name of spreading joy and absolving guilt. You might have seen them around the city, cutting an absurd figure at queer events, bearded and spectacled men in colourful, handmade habits and gowns. Outdated clothing to parody the outdated view held by established religions that homosexuality is unnatural, the Sisters say.
“I think humour is a really good way of dealing with unpleasant situations,” Faber said, “And these men, they would tell me these awful things that they’ve been through in their lives, like not being able to come out to their parents, or going through conversion therapy, stuff like that, and their response to it was just trying to laugh and trying to have fun.”
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These “sacred clowns” as Faber has referred to them, are the focus of a feature-length documentary that’s been in the works for years, beginning as an exploration into the different ways queer people express themselves.
A reworked cut of the documentary, titled Old Habits, was aired on ABC’s Compass last month. One scene sees Faber talking with a young street preacher who is completely unwilling to stray from his belief that homosexuality is wrong.
History, Faber finds, manages to repeat itself, regardless of how much progress has been made in LGBTQIA+ rights.
“In the 80’s, we had this far right religious fundamentalism, and now it’s returning,” he said. “I think that it’s been consistently there, and the things that have changed around queer rights and homophobia are how it’s accepted institutionally.
“Even though we’ve got marriage equality and everyone watches RuPaul, I go to certain workplaces, and I’m not sure if I am safe to talk about it or be open about it.
“There’s this really fundamental belief In some people, which I guess gets handed down that being gay is wrong.”
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Empathy through storytelling
Although we’ve only been shown snippets through the Compass episode, it’s clear that Faber has captured something incredibly special, sharing not only the doctrine of the Sisters, but the enduring community created by queer people in the face of shame.
A community so profound in fact, that Faber soon found himself a part of it, becoming an ordained member of the Order under the name Sister Beefcake Tenderloins.
After all, if history is repeating itself by creating more bigots, surely some more Sisters are needed to keep the sacred balance in order.
“I didn’t document any new history,” Faber said. “I just put it in to a story for people to consume. And that’s what I’m passionate about, is knowing that I’ve made something which will resonate with an audience and create empathy.
“I don’t know that I could convince someone who already has that agenda to watch this, but the biggest compliment that I would be able to receive would be from someone like him who watched it and then thought, actually, I get it. I understand it now.”
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Watch Old Habits as part of ABC’s program, Compass, streaming in Australian on ABC iview.
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