In 1982 the San Francisco Order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence produced what was to become a landmark document in the emerging AIDS crisis. Play Fair was probably the first safer sex material written by and for gay men.

The brochure was probably also the first such document to use humour to put across an extremely serious message.

It began with the following explanation:

“Several months ago, Mother Superior noticed an unusual incidence of sniffling, coughing, grimacing, scratching and farting around the Convent. Several of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were complaining about sore balls, swollen glands, scratchy throats, rashes, cramps, lumps and tingling between their legs.

Besides the necessities of hiring a resident Roto-Rooter man and replacing the hinges of the bathroom doors weekly, the Convent’s consumption of toilet paper, aspirin, band aids and air freshener grew so unreasonably that Mother Superior was forced to ask the Vatican for a larger slush fund just to keep the Order solvent.

Embarrassed by such outrageous expenses and alarmed by the general malaise – and, in some cases, downright collapse – of the sisters, Mother Superior made it her business to get to the bottom of the unhappy situation on the very morning that she found a queen crab walking up her leg. What she discovered may gross you out but these findings could prove useful in preventing or eliminating similar situations in your own life.

It seems that the Sisters were suffering from numerous Sexual Transmitted Diseases. In the dark as to their discomfort, many nuns preferred to believe they had contracted unusually pesky colds that would sooner or later disappear. Unfortunately, we are in for some harsh lessons in personal and social responsibility concerning health matters.”

What followed next was the first inkling of the crisis that was about to be unleashed upon our communities:

“Gonorrhoea, syphilis, herpes, scabies, intestinal parasites and hepatitis (not to mention widespread warts and guilt) have all reached epidemic proportions in San Francisco. Mysterious forms of cancer and pneumonia are now lurking among us too.”[My emphasis]

Even now, more than thirty years on, my heart sinks when I read those words. That mysterious cancer (a.k.a. Kaposi’s Sarcoma) and pneumonia (Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, or PCP for short) were the first symptoms of what had yet to be identified and labelled as AIDS.

It’s hard not to read it without that sense of impending disaster. But I guess that’s why that makes this particular leaflet so especially important: even when we didn’t know the causes of AIDS or the modes of transmission, information was already going out that would, hopefully, reduce its impact.

Information such as this – Mother Superior’s Recommendations to Help Create a Disease-free Convent and Community:

“PLAY FAIR! If you know – or even suspect – that you have a Sexually Transmitted Disease, don’t put other people at risk by engaging in sexual activity. Wait until you KNOW you can cum clean.

SOAP AND WATER. Wash your hunky little body before and immediately after sexual contact.

THE AFTER-SEX.  Pee as soon as you can manage it after sexual contact. The sooner the better.

THE OLD DOUCHE. Absolutely NOT! Stop douching. It can spread a little infection further inside you, making it a big infection.

LUBRICANTS. Buy lubricants free of fancy perfumes, scents or MSQ. The chemicals can inflame your ass.

COCK RINGS. Take off your ring when not in use. Some boys can’t part with their ring but it can make the penis swell and cuts off circulation to the family jewels.

CONDOMS. Condoms actually prevent the spread of certain diseases. If you have a sore or anything on your cock that looks suspicious and you simply must indulge, wear a condom. Don’t give whatever you might have to your partner(s).

NO-NAME SEX. If one of your partners discovers an infection after you’ve had sex together and you haven’t exchanged names, he probably won’t be able to notify you. Try to keep some record of your contacts.

RIMMING. Sigh. This is the most dangerous sexual behaviour. We have lost more Sisters to the clutches of hepatitis, amoeba, giardia and other awful diseases. Even the cleanset looking, most desirable man can have shit full of bacteria and germs. And your tongue in an asshole can slurp up just enough species of infected shit to make you sorry later. However, Mother Superior gives Sisters in monogamous relationships permission to rim.

VD TESTING. If one of your current partners lets you know he has a disease, it is a good idea to get tested for it. In addition since most Sexually Transmitted Diseases can be contracted without the usuals symptoms, today’s sexually active gay male should have regular tests for syphilis and gonorrhoea every three months as a good rule of thumb. A monthly self-examination for Kaposi’s Sarcoma and venereal warts are advisable. Warts are easy and fun to check for by using a mirror or having a friend examine your asshole. Refer to the section on Kaposi’s Sarcoma for what symptoms to watch out for.

POPPERS. Warning: Mother Superior has determined that popper inhalation can be dangerous to your health.

OBSERVATION. Check out your man before you lay hands on one another. One Sister even carries a flashlight for those all-too-frequent encounters in the darkness.”

I can’t over-estimate the significance of this brochure. Locally, it was received with such enthusiasm it has been subject to a number of re-prints.

But it made it’s impact on a broader scale too. I brought copies of Play Fair back to England with me in 1983: along with the Harvey Milk Democratic Club’s leaflet Can We Talk? it had an immediate and lasting impact on the work I did in AIDS education. I’ve also heard that it had a similar impact on Australian AIDS activists. Undoubtedly there were others, both inside and outside the USA.

Image source unknown

Sadly not all the authors lived to see the full impact of their work. Bobby Campbell – a.k.a. Sister Florence Nightmare – was one of them. A tireless AIDS activist he became known as ‘the AIDS Poster Boy’ when his photograph appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine. Despite writing a regular column, ‘I Will Survive’, for a San Fran newspaper, sadly, he did not. But he, along with his fellow Sisters left a legacy that ensured that so many other gay men did.