For the second year in a row, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence hosted their annual Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary contests online, and crowned winners on Twitch. But the group’s second iteration of its streaming Easter Sunday tradition was arguably much grander than the 2020 event.
The pandemic’s proven that queens are endlessly adaptable and can shapeshift on the toss of a dime, trading green screens for dance floors. And this year’s contestants truly echoed that sentiment, which was perfectly captured by philanthropist and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Honey Mahogany: “If drag queens learned anything while being inside from COVID-19, it’s video editing.”
Hosted by Sister Roma and other participating Sisters, the event featured three MCs — among them Mahogany, who was joined alongside activist and organizer Alexi U. Inn and drag legend Juanita MORE! — during the two-hour Easter Sunday celebration on Twitch. Before the contest began in the second hour, the event’s first 60 minutes saw an array of digital delights.
DJ spinnings from the likes of MORE! and others riled up the digital crowds; a slew of drag queen and king performances (which included the incomparable Nicki Jizz twirling and living her best life in the middle of an empty Market Street) dazzled attendees. The sisters auctioned off small-scale prints of the towering "Sister Honey Bear" mural at Powerhouse, ideated and painted by the somewhat controversial street artist fnnch; those prints sold out in less than two minutes, raising raised $24,375 for the charitable causes that the Sisters supported for 2021, according to Broke-Ass Stuart.
A year-in-review reel about the work the SF Queer Nightlife Fund — the local nonprofit that sponsored the happening — was also played, spotlighting the fact that the organization has raised over $316K in funds since the pandemic began; all the gathered monies have gone to help financially buoy affected nightlife workers. (You can still make a tax-deductible donation to that fund, here.)
At last, then the blasphemous revelry began — starting with the competition’s Foxy Mary Contest 2021 contestants, who made up the women-identifying category. The winner among the six contestants? The cathartically named Mary Blessed Fucker of COVID; their corona of candles and “FUCK COVID” body paint perfectly matched the day’s mood.
Then came time to see a gaggle of lusty Jesus look-alikes rise again (and perform their hearts out.) And while Hunky Jesus on a PogoStick and Yes Lord, Jesus made us weak in the knees, O Sweet Jesus — with his pro-vaccination soapboxing, squeezes of honey on his bare chest, and excessively sequined jockstrap — ultimately won the crowning vote.
The day’s online festivities also included a mask contest (because... COVID-19), with the winner of that competition being DirtyMasks, whose faunal-queer, bucktooth-mask getup proved unstoppable.
Related: SF Street Artist Fnnch Paints 'Sister Honey Bear' Mural on SoMa's Powerhouse
This Year's Online Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary Contests Helped Our Spirits Rise Again [2020]
