In 1982 cartoonist Bob Thaves wrote that dancer Fred Astaire “was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did… backwards and in high heels.”
When it comes to environmental and LGBTQIA+ activism, nothing could be truer of drag queen extraordinaire, Pattie Gonia, who first went viral in 2018 after posting a video of herself hiking in six-inch-heeled boots. Overnight she became the “backpacking queen.”
With her fiery auburn hair and mustache and fantastical costumes made of upcycled and recycled clothing and other materials, Pattie has become the fierce voice of a generation determined to combat climate change. She has capitalized on her ever-growing platform of more than 700,000 social media followers to spread her message through gloriously entertaining videos and stage performances at festivals across the world.
Ever since she discovered drag to express herself authentically, Pattie has merged powerful, often comedic performance art with her unwavering, inspiring dedication to raise awareness about threats to nature, both manmade and otherwise.
A leading advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors, Pattie co-founded the Outdoorist Club, a nonprofit that encourages LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and femmes to venture into the outdoors through community and education. She is also a board member of Brave Trails, which provides a summer camp and backpacking trips for queer youth, as well as the founder of the Queer Outdoor and Environmental Job Board, a free career sourcing tool.
To date she has fundraised over $2.7 million for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and environmental causes. Her passionate pursuit has garnered several prestigious awards including the “Next Gen Leader 2024” from Time, “Nat Geo 33 Changemaker” by National Geographic, and “Person of the Year 2022” from Outside.
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We spoke with Pattie Gonia during a break from her ambitious international touring schedule, which is currently bringing a team of environmentally focused drag queens to venues around the United States.
Aside from “going outside,” where do you find your source of personal strength and joy to continue your work as an environmental activist?
My chosen family. Other drag performers like Sasha Velour, Shea Couleé and VERA!
And knowing that every time I take action for people and the planet, a little bit of fascism dies a sweet death.
Now that we are witnessing the rapid-fire dismantling of protections for federal wildlife lands and nature preserves, has your approach to environmental activism changed? Do you see it changing with the rollback of laws that have preserved our environment?
Now is an important time to remember what our queer elders who founded the queer rights movement knew well –– we mourn in the morning, we fight in the afternoon, and we dance in the evening –– and it’s the dancing that keeps us going. We need to fight hard but we also need to celebrate the wins, build the community and make the joy that will sustain the movement.
Do you see your approach to your drag art form evolving to meet these new threats, or will it remain the same?
Yes, [a lot of] drag represents a fight for nature, just as much as the fight for equality of the people on it.
Is it harder to find the “joy” at the center of your message? Or have you found a renewed strength in the new challenges ahead?
Joy is and always will be the goal. They take joy away from us and what do we got? Make no mistake, people in power want us to believe we don’t deserve joy. That’s when they win. I won’t let them have that.
In a time when millions of people are feeling disheartened, demoralized and even terrified for the future, what would you say to rally them to continue their efforts to fight for the protection of our environment and find their joy?
Inaction is an active choice. Doing nothing is doing something. People in power want us to believe that we can’t affect change. Yet, if we look at history, we can see that time and time again, the people united will never be defeated.
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What are three things that members of the LGBTQIA+ community can do today to show the world that they still believe in the protection of nature and our world? How can they use self-expression to promote the cause of saving our natural environment?
One: We must remember that nature is gay as fuck. I’m not talking gay whales that have sex with each other, which is true. But I’m talking about a broad definition of queerness in nature –– the way nature problem solves, resists, gets creative and survives against adversity. That’s queer nature to me.
Two: Go outside with people you love in a way you love. Doesn’t have to be a 20-mile hike. How about a picnic or a blunt or a walk outside at a local park?
Three: When we go outside, we build a relationship to nature. Through that relationship we realize how needed it is to fight and protect nature, because we fight for what we love.
Pattie Gonia’s current projects include a touring drag show entitled SAVE HER!, a TV series with Bonnie Wright of “Harry Potter” fame, and collaborations with artists and musicians across a variety of environmental spaces. To learn more about Pattie and her organizations and nonprofits, visit her website or find her on Instagram and TikTok @pattiegonia.
Previously in The Revelator:
Environmental Muralist Faunagraphic Brings an Urban Oasis to the Concrete Jungle
