Drag Queen Pattie Gonia: Nature Isn’t Binary, and Neither Are We
4/28/202644 min
How can we see nature as an invitation to break down binary thinking? In this episode, Willow sits down with environmental drag queen Pattie Gonia to explore the outdoors as a space that bridges divides. From hiking in heels to building community through art, Pattie shares how drag became a pathway back to both nature and self. Diving into the deep connection between identity, self expression, and the natural world, this conversation is an invitation to reconnect with what is most alive within us—and to remember that healing ourselves might be part of how we heal the world.
For more about Pattie Gonia: https://www.pattiegonia.net/
60 Seconds on Earth with Pattie Gonia: https://atmos.earth/art-and-culture/60-seconds-on-earth-with-pattie-gonia/
Pattie Gonia on Drag and Identity in the Outdoors: https://atmos.earth/art-and-culture/pattie-gonia-environmentalist-drag-queen-interview/
Why Pattie Gonia, Yo-Yo Ma, and Quinn Christopherson Won’t Give Up: https://atmos.earth/art-and-culture/why-pattie-gonia-yo-yo-ma-and-quinn-christopherson-wont-give-up/
Watch Bonnie Wright and Pattie Gonia Road Trip for the Planet: https://atmos.earth/art-and-culture/watch-bonnie-wright-and-pattie-gonia-road-trip-for-the-planet/
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsPattie Gonia· Guest0:00
[gentle music] We all love nature. On the left, people might call it climate. On the right, people might call it conservation. It is the same thing, babe. We have the potential via nature to actually, I think, bridge what people view as the unbridgeable right now. I think that's going to be hard, but I think it starts in realizing everyone has a piece of nature that is really important to them.
Willow Defebaugh· Host0:24
Speaking of bridging worlds, you might not think that climate activist and drag queen belong in the same sentence, but Pattie Gonia does it all. She has hiked 100 miles in drag, she's bungee jumped in drag, and even rappelled off of the face of a cliff with Imogen Heap for their latest musical collaboration. Pattie is a force of nature, and she's here to remind us to take the work seriously, but not ourselves.
Pattie Gonia· Guest0:56
I think a lot of people look at what I do with drag as an activist and see me as a joke, and I'm like, "Thank you so much. That's the highest compliment you could ever give me," because the joy that I can give people and that then they can give each other is the strategic way through. Joy is a strategy. Joy is an inside job, and joy is what keeps people showing up time and time again.
Willow Defebaugh· Host1:24
I'm Willow Defebaugh, and this is The Nature of, where