2023-05-16 09:00:00
Activism
A drag queen in the service of environmental protection
Activist Pattie Gonia turns trash into glamor and inspires millions on Instagram and Tik Tok with a focus on saving the planet with her dramatic humor.
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Gabriella Alvarez-Hummel
Published
We see a drag queen on a hiking trail. She is wearing an amazing dress made from trash and holding a small wrapping paper in her hand. “If you manage to stay with your insignificant boyfriend for two years, you can very well keep this piece of garbage with you for five more minutes,” she proclaims.
This short scene is going viral. Three million views on Instagram1.3 million on TikTok. This is one of Pattie Gonia’s most watched videos. And she embodies everything the American drag queen and activist represents: environmental protection, humor, and a dramatic side.
The link between drag and social justice
Pattie Gonia is an artistic character created by Wyn Wiley. The American photographer combines in Pattie his two greatest passions: drag and environmental protection. Hence the name Pattie Gonia – in reference to the popular brand Patagonia, which specializes in outdoor items.
If this drag queen comes from the entertainment world, she is also there to send a message to the whole world. And the latter seems to listen to him, since Pattie Gonia has 525,000 followers on Instagram and 152,000 on TikTok.
In interview with American Vogue, Pattie explains that she is far from the first drag queen to associate drag with social causes: “A lot of people are unaware that drag has its roots in social justice. Drag queens, primarily Queens of Color, have been at the forefront of the gay rights movement. Today, my goal is to honor these original roots, but also to participate in environmental justice.
Major outdoor brands, such as The North Face, also collaborate with Pattie Gonia:
More time in nature
Following Pattie Gonia on social media, you might think she struts around the outdoors day after day, alone and in high heels. But it would be simplistic to think that, because the community aspect and the social dimension are part of the pillars of the work of the drag queen. She recently co-founded the NGO The Outdoorist Oath. This organization aims to encourage as many people as possible to protect the environment. Another project close to the heart of the drag queen is called Brave Trails. This is a summer camp for young queers that aims to make the Outdoor-Community more inclusive.
Pattie Gonia is committed to getting everyone to spend more time in nature. “If we fall in love with nature, we will be better equipped to fight and engage in its favor,” she says in the British Vogue magazine.
Pattie Gonia also shared with Vogue her top tips for connecting more with nature. Examples? “Discover hidden nature near you” or “You don’t need expensive equipment”.
Whether in the context of her mission, her fantastic clothes or the content of her videos, Pattie Gonia always puts nature back at the center of her inspirations. “I like to use drag as a playground to portray the beauty I see in nature,” she notes. In this video, Pattie Gonia evokes the meadow sparrow, a small bird, in order to contextualize global warming. Moreover, as the drag queen declares in the magazine Outside“the birds are the drag queens of the air”.
The Swiss drag queen who is committed to the animal cause
But why look to the United States when Switzerland also has its activist drag queen? Her name is Soya the Cow – it is the Swiss artist Daniel Hellmann who hides behind this character. Unlike Pattie Gonia, Soya the Cow is not explicitly committed to the protection of the environment, but to that of animals. On her website, Daniel Hellmann writes that Soya the Cow is “a sex-positive, feminist, vegan drag creature that breaks gender and species binaries.” And to continue: “Soya the Cow dances, sings and speaks for the liberation of all. Soya was born to inspire and challenge the status quo. She fights for animals and for all those whose voices are not heard.
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