Melissa Wilcox

Melissa M. Wilcox is Professor and Holstein Family and Community Chair of Religious Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She is the author or editor of several books and journal issues, and numerous articles, on gender, sexuality, and religion. Her latest book, Queer Nuns: Religion, Activism, and Serious Parody, is forthcoming from the Sexual Cultures Series at New York University Press in May 2018.

Archive, Culture, New Books, RD10Q, Sexuality/GenderMay 3, 2018

Queer Nuns: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Are “Serious Parody,” Forcing us to Redefine Nuns

By Melissa Wilcox

The Sisters are an order of self-named queer nuns who parody Roman Catholicism, and at the same time make an earnest and very serious claim to be nuns—just not Roman Catholic ones.

New Books, Sex/Gender/JusticeMay 3, 2018

Queer Nuns: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are “Serious Parody,” Forcing Us to Redefine Nuns

By Melissa Wilcox

Many think they’re mocking nuns, but parody or camp and mockery are often very different things. In fact, one of the easiest ways to move a Sister to tears is to tell her that nuns from other orders (Roman Catholic, Buddhist, etc.) recognize and respect her work.