Pattie Gonia: How Nature Can Help Us Transcend Binaries
episodePreviously titled “Drag Queen Pattie Gonia: Nature Isn’t Binary, and Neither Are We” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 5, 2026
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What does it mean to bridge divides through nature?
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.
Speaking of bridging worlds, you might not think that climate activist and drag queen belong in the same sentence, but Patti Gonia does it all. She has hiked a hundred 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. Patti is a force of nature, and she's here to remind us to take the work seriously, but not ourselves.
How did Pattie Gonia's drag persona evolve?
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.
I'm Willow Duffabaugh, and this is The Nature Of, where we look to the nature of our world for wisdom and ideas that change the way we live. This week, I'm sitting down with my best-dressed guest, Patti Gonia, to talk about her career blending climate activism and drag, how the outdoors can bring us all together, and the story behind some of her most iconic looks. Patagonia, welcome to the nature of... Hello everybody.
Oh my gosh, you can hear the carabiner earrings.
What role does joy play in activism and self-expression?
Yeah, can we have a little carabiner earring ASMR?
Mmm. Yeah, these are not climbing grade carabiners, but they do work functionally for keys. So lesbianism abound, you know? They're carrying their weight, I would say.
You should be an author. Oh, thanks. Note taken. Okay, I want to get into the origin of Patagonia. How did you come to be hitting the trail in heels?
How can queerness redefine our understanding of nature?
I really feel like the story of Patti goes back to my childhood. I remember jumping off of a swing set when I was seven years old, performing musicals in my backyard, and I really think that's when Patti was born. But I didn't claim her until about seven years ago when I went on this backpacking trip, and I decided to take this six-inch pair of high heels with me, and by accident birthed this drag persona. But really, what was behind it was so many years of... Connection to the outdoors via expression and femininity and my queerness and so much of this inner child that I was so at peace with growing up and especially found in nature that then through middle school and through high school, through sports, through Boy Scouts, through being called a faggot every time I would play a sport outdoors, I really learned to disconnect myself from nature.
I really learned to disconnect myself from nature. this whole side of me that i loved and i'm so glad that patty brought that healing and inner child back into my life and brought a connection to nature with it and so much my work is rooted in wanting that same connection for other people like i really think that so much of the problems in our world today are because we are so disconnected from nature and we're so disconnected from ourselves and that's why i really think that if we can heal ourselves we can heal the world that's why i think that self-love and coming to terms with who you are is such a gift to give this world and that's what patty's here to do
I mean, you took the words right out of my mouth because when you said that you were disconnected from the natural world through all of that bullying, those experiences as a kid, it's like we talk so much about how we get disconnected from ourselves, I think, as queer people when we have those kinds of upbringings. But we don't often talk about what happens at the same time, which is a disconnect from the world around us.
What are the connections between identity and environmentalism?
And queer people are so often told that we're unnatural or that we don't fit into the world.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does it mean to bridge divides through nature?
0:01–0:57
2
How did Pattie Gonia's drag persona evolve?
0:57–2:02
3
What role does joy play in activism and self-expression?
2:02–2:30
4
How can queerness redefine our understanding of nature?
2:30–4:31
5
What are the connections between identity and environmentalism?
4:31–5:08
6
How does music serve as a form of activism?
5:08–5:51
7
What lessons can we learn from the intersection of drag and climate activism?
5:51–6:36
8
How can we heal ourselves to heal the world?
6:36–44:25
Speakers
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