In Bend and beyond, drag queen Pattie Gonia advocates for inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors

As a drag queen, environmentalist and community organizer, Pattie Gonia uses her platform to advocate for inclusive outdoor spaces. From mountain biking to skiing, she shares her love of the outdoors and has built a sizable following on social media.

Pattie Gonia is based in Bend and she joins us with more on connecting with nature … in heels.

Note: The following transcript was transcribed digitally and validated for accuracy, readability and formatting by an OPB volunteer.

Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Dave Miller. Pattie Gonia joins us now. The Bend-based drag queen, environmentalist and community organizer uses her platform to advocate for climate activism, and inclusive and joy-filled outdoor spaces. That platform is significant, with more than a million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok. Pattie Gonia, welcome to Think Out Loud.

Pattie Gonia: Thanks so much for having me.

Miller: The story I’ve heard is that before you were Pattie Gonia, you were working as a professional photographer. You were at a photography conference where you were working and had a big dance party at the end of it. And that’s when you decided to go in drag for the first time in your life. And that was like five or six years ago?

Pattie Gonia: That was six years ago.

Miller: So what most stands out to you from that night?

Pattie Gonia: You know, I grew up in Nebraska, which is a very tough place to be queer, and to be out and proud. So, even though I was out at that point, I’d never done drag. I’d never tapped into my femininity. I never tapped into my love for the outdoors. And that night, I got to celebrate all of who I was. And I think that for queer people, coming out is a series of coming outs. It’s not just a before and after. And that was a big step into my truth.

I feel like I’m thankful for the gift of femininity and thankful for the gift of Mother Nature. And it was a lot of joy, feeling tapped into that for that night. And now six years later, here we are.

Miller: What happened after that night though when you went back home to Nebraska?

Pattie Gonia: Yeah, after that, I went home to Nebraska. And a lot of people had seen photos of me in drag that night and it was pretty much radio silence from people that I thought were my friends and from my family. People were saying, well, now Wyn is trans, and now they’re making me uncomfortable with who they are and what they’re doing.

So it was a really sad and lonely summer. But I got really into backpacking that summer. [I] went on a backpacking trip with a few of my only friends left at that time, decided to pack in my backpack the six-inch high heels, and strutted the trails for the first time as Pattie Gonia in the backcountry on that trip. And it just changed my life in every way imaginable.

Yes, we’re all familiar with viral moments. They happen all the time these days. But the hundreds and thousands of queer people working in the science fields and outdoor fields that reached out and said, “we love what you’re doing, please come and help host Pride,” for example, in Yosemite National Park. And now six years later, we’re hosting Pride for hundreds and thousands of people all around in different outdoor areas.

Miller: What did you think you would do with those boots when you put them in your backpack? I mean, these were the boots that had been one of the avenues to joy and freedom that you described that night. But also had led to a backlash from some of the people who, up to that point, it seemed, had supported you. And then when you went and did this thing where a lot of people look at every single ounce of what they’re carrying, you went to the trouble of adding extra weight for something that doesn’t serve a backpacking purpose. It serves a very different, deeper purpose. I’m curious why you put them in your pack?

Pattie Gonia: I think what I wasn’t really aware of at that time is that putting those boots in my backpack was me choosing myself, choosing my happiness. You know, I think a lot of queer people change who they are to make other people happy. But I think, for me, packing those boots was a sign that I was choosing myself and I was choosing curiosity. I think oftentimes in life we go into things and we know exactly what’s going to happen. And I think putting those boots in my backpack, I had no idea what was going to happen. And surely didn’t think that I would wake up the next day to millions of views on this video and launch a drag persona, when I had literally no idea how to do drag.

So it’s taken some time to figure it out. But I think I figured out a lot about who I am and what I stand for. And I feel really grateful for art in any form that helps unlock who people are, whether it’s drag, or an outdoor sport that people love, or painting, or songwriting. Whatever it is that can help people tap into and discover pieces of who they are, I think we should do that.

Miller: I’ve seen in various places – maybe regret is not the right word – you’ve been on a journey in terms of the craft of drag and it seems like you’re a little embarrassed about your lack of craft at the beginning. Although nobody starting out any artistic practice is good at it to begin with; you have to start somewhere. But aside from that aspect, has Pattie Gonia evolved in those five or six years?

Pattie Gonia: Absolutely. We are constantly changing, and so is my drag persona, and so is nature. When I look at nature and I see how much nature goes through seasons, and grows and changes, I can see it in myself. So, for me, my art form has changed, the purpose of my art form has changed.

I think what I was never expecting to happen that really has happened is that – drag, I got into it because it was fun and it was a way to emote, express and discover pieces of who I am. But what I didn’t know in the beginning was the history of drag. And that drag has really always been used as an art form to advocate and take stances. And it was birthed in the queer rights movement. So for a lot of people now, when they think about the combination of drag queen and environmentalist, it can seem really taboo to them, foreign or weird. And I’m like, well, this is me using an art form that I love to advocate for what I care about in this world. And that’s what I want everyone to do. I want everyone to use their skills, their resources, their talent, to fight for what they care about in this world. I think that’s how we build the world we need.

Miller: What did the outdoors mean to you when you were growing up in Nebraska?

Pattie Gonia: Nature was my first safe space to be myself. Some of my first memories – I think for a lot of people – are being in a backyard, being in a local park. For me, I felt so in touch with nature and so in touch with myself out there. And it was my place where I didn’t feel judged. And growing up in elementary school, middle school, started doing sports outdoors and got called a slew of slurs, and very much learned that sports and “the outdoors” weren’t a safe space for me. And so I got really disconnected from the outdoors and from nature.

I think also, growing up, I was told that queerness was wrong, that it was unnatural. But it turns out that queerness is in every ecosystem on every continent on planet Earth. And it turns out that we as humans are nature, we are not separate from nature. So for me, when I see queerness in nature, it helps me come back to that love for nature I had when I was a kid. And when I see it in nature, I can see it more myself.

Miller: I didn’t use the word activist there. My understanding is that’s not a word you always are drawn to, to describe yourself. Is that accurate, that you don’t call yourself necessarily an activist?

Pattie Gonia: People call me lots of things. They call me a drag queen. They can call me an influencer. They can call me a community organizer. They can call me an activist. I’m just out here trying to use who I am and what I’m good at to advocate for what I care about in this world. So put any label on it you want, but people love it and people are showing the hell up.

I think the word activist has a lot of connotations of the people that are on the front lines of movements. And what I want to inspire is everyday “activism” or everyday action where people are doing those little 1% changes in their life that they can do where they are, where their feet are, to make a difference. I think that is actually what activism looks like. So, yeah, that’s what I want to advocate for.

Miller: What brought you to Bend?

Pattie Gonia: Great question. Well, in a lot of ways, Bend is the place I’ve kind of always been looking for my whole life. I spent a lot of my twenties living out of my car, traveling around to different national parks and state parks. After Pattie was born, I got invited to come up and help host Winter Pride Fest up at Mount Bachelor, and came and I was kind of like, what is this place? It is so incredible. And there is a little budding queer community that’s grown more since, due to amazing community organizers here in Bend – shout out to Bend Pride Coalition.

It’s been amazing. I think that Bend is fertile soil. I also think that Bend has a lot of problems when it comes to diversity, but I want to do my part to try to increase diversity and advocate for a more equitable outdoors here in Bend, but also in Oregon too. Oregon gets overlooked and I think it’s amazing.

Miller: What are some of your favorite off-the-beaten-path outdoor spaces in Oregon?

Pattie Gonia: Oh my gosh, that’s such a good question. I think Eastern Oregon is unbelievable. I love Eastern Oregon. I’ve only gotten out there to visit a few times. But being from Nebraska, I love a wide open sky. So seeing the stars out there is so special. And locally, here in Bend, there’s no place better to be than the river. So I have all sorts of little spots on the river that have little swimming holes. And even though my skin and my sunburns happen, I do it for the love of the river.

Miller: Do you feel like you’re in some ways preaching to the choir in Bend, a place that’s famous in the West for attracting people, specifically because within a half an hour you have almost every kind of outdoor opportunity? You’re in a place where it seems you don’t need to convince people to do stuff outdoors or, or am I wrong?

Pattie Gonia: I would say it’s who needs convincing, right? I think when we look at “the outdoors” it is built on whiteness and colonization. And a lot of stories that capitalism has told us are the “definition” of outdoorsy. And I think all of those walls need to be smashed through. I’m here in Bend to advocate for nonprofit organizations like Vámonos Outside that are getting the Latino community outdoors. I’m here to support the queer community getting outdoors because queer people often don’t feel safe outdoors, especially trans people. So there is a lot of work to do here.

I would also say more broad strokes – there need to be a lot more women in the outdoors, and there are badass women here in Bend and in Oregon doing amazing things. It’s been so cool to get to know a lot of them and get to see the community organizing work they’re doing, and that’s what I want to support. So I think you definitely got your white straight people outdoors. But how about diverse people that have systematically not been taught outdoor skills? What are we doing for them?

Miller: What advice do you have for people who see a prominent version of outdoor life – that is sort of the ultra endurance version – and think that that is necessary if they’re going to do stuff outside?

Pattie Gonia: Hm. I totally welcome that. If that’s your yum, I don’t wanna yuck it. But I think there’s a lot of other people that love going outside for an hour here or there. For me, I love doing my makeup outdoors, painting my nails or doing drag outdoors. I want to advocate for a broad definition of outdoorsy, including those crazy ultra runners. At one point, I tried to run an ultra marathon, too, so, you know, here we are. I think that I want everyone to enjoy their yum outdoors and want everyone to be connected to nature. I think it really helps inform your environmentalism, too, because to me, we’re asking a lot of people right now to fight for a planet and they feel really disconnected to this planet. They don’t know what they’re fighting for. So I think if we can get everyone outside and connected to nature, you fight for what you love.

Miller: You put out some wonderful joy-filled videos. Recently, one with some skiing friends, all in drag, one mountain biking. There’s that famous quote that apparently is misattributed to Ginger Rogers. Apparently she didn’t say this, but everyone’s heard that she did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels. It did make me wonder what the hardest activity to do in drag is, just physically?

Pattie Gonia: That is such a good question that I’ve never been asked. I would honestly say that we do these group hikes outdoors and that means I’m on my feet in heels for around seven, eight hours. And that’s the hardest thing, is honestly just standing and hiking in high heels. Biking, there’s some weight off your heels; climbing, there’s some weight off your heels; skiing, you can take some breaks on a lift.

Miller: But I’ve seen you say that ski boots are less comfortable than your heels?

Pattie Gonia: Oh, they are. I mean, who would have thought that wearing plastic on your feet would ever be comfortable? But yeah, I would like to opt or advocate for, that drag is considered a sport. And it’s very much a team sport. It definitely doesn’t happen just by myself, so shout out to my team.

Miller: I feel like one of the reasons that you’ve been successful is that you’ve figured out a way – or maybe you haven’t figured it out – but that your joy is infectious, it’s communicable joy. Where do you think that comes from?

Pattie Gonia: I would trace the roots of joy back to the artform of drag. Since its birth, drag – and queer people, broadly – have turned pain into joy. Like if you look at the AIDS crisis, no one wanted to join that fight, but drag performers, trans people turned that pain into joy. I don’t know, I think that if there’s one thing, the art from a drag has taught me, it’s that you can take fighting for something seriously without taking yourself too seriously. So for me, joy is a serious way to take action. Joy is strategic. Joy is an inside job.

Miller: Pattie Gonia, it was a pleasure talking with you. Thanks so much.

Pattie Gonia: Thank you.

Miller: That is the Bend-based drag queen, environmentalist and community organizer, Pattie Gonia.

Contact “Think Out Loud®”

If you’d like to comment on any of the topics in this show or suggest a topic of your own, please get in touch with us on Facebook, send an email to thinkoutloud@opb.org, or you can leave a voicemail for us at 503-293-1983. The call-in phone number during the noon hour is 888-665-5865.