Heels, joy and climate action: Why artist Pattie Gonia blends drag with activism
From national parks to drag stages, Pattie Gonia uses creativity to make the activism more accessible
Joy, glitter and a pair of thigh-high heels might not sound like standard-issue gear for climate activism, but for drag queen Pattie Gonia, they're just some of the essential tools in her fight for the planet.
Pattie Gonia, known offstage as Wyn Wiley, is an environmental advocate who works to make climate education and advocacy more engaging and accessible.
"The climate movement needs some more joy and some more fun," she told What On Earth host Laura Lynch.
"So our shows are just that. They're a chance for the community to come together, to celebrate solutions and to celebrate the people making those solutions happen."
For Pattie Gonia, climate activism is not just about grim statistics or dire predictions. It's about bringing people together through creativity, performance and a bit of irreverence.
"If there's one thing that drag has taught me, it's that you can take fighting for something seriously without taking yourself too seriously," she said.
Different kind of environmental activism taking root
Pattie Gonia's approach is part of a broader movement known as creative activism, which blends art and advocacy to make activism more accessible.
Stephen Duncombe, co-founder and research director at the Centre for Artistic Activism and a professor of media and culture at New York University, sees this approach as essential to modern activism.
"Using things like creativity or humour or a drag show is a way to kind of bring people in before they've made up their mind about what the issue is," he said.
"Cognitive scientists have been telling us for about 20 years that we usually dismiss facts that don't align with our beliefs, but if we don't know what something is, we're more open to it."
In a public experiment he co-led in Copenhagen, Duncombe found that creative forms of activism were "much more effective at a whole sort of range of objectives," in part because people described them as "fun, funny, surprising," and "something they wanted to approach rather than avoid."
Making climate activism more accessible
But making activism accessible isn't just about adding fun for Pattie Gonia. It's also about challenging the exclusivity often found within environmental movements.
Climate activism, particularly at high-profile events, is often financially inaccessible due to steep fees that exclude many from participating, she said.
"You have to have a $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 ticket to even get into the room where the conversations are happening. I don't think that's equitable. I don't think that's a climate movement by the people for the people."
As an alternative, Pattie Gonia works with groups, such as Outdoorist Oath, which she co-founded, to help BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and femmes connect with nature through education and community.
Whether leading a Pride hike in Yosemite National Park or organizing an annual environmental drag show tour, her work is rooted in community.
"Grassroots solutions are actually how change is made," Pattie Gonia said. "When problems feel too large, get local — focus on your local community."
Duncombe sees this blend of art and activism as essential: "Politics is played out in a level of signs and symbols and stories and spectacles," he said.
"That's the terrain of artists ... it's affective insofar as it gets people feeling things, but it's also really effective, because that's the world we live in."
And when activism connects on that emotional level, it can unite people — not just around a cause, but around each other, said Pattie Gonia.
"People united will never be defeated."
