Pattie Gonia, the environmentalist drag queen, wants to create a more inclusive climate movement

Queer environmental activist Pattie Gonia wants everyone to follow them in the great outdoors, with or without high heels. With more than 300 thousand followers on Instagram, Pattie uses her account to challenge conventional representations of what climate activists and outdoors people look like and to speak up about environmental issues. This professional photographer from Nebraska grew up in nature, in "the middle of everywhere" and dealt with internalized homophobia and toxic masculinity for 10 years of their life as an openly gay male and wasn't allowing herself to show their true queer and identity. Today Pattie does not want anyone to go through the same experience and that's how Pattie Gonia was born. . Pattie wants to show that everyone can express their full self in nature. Pattie uses her social media platform to share pictures and videos of herself hiking, camping and organises inclusive hikes with groups of queer people, non-binary people and trans people who often have never been to the countryside. She also posed next to an oil rig to push for fossil fuel divestment, and she created a gown made of recycled garments as well as actual trash to raise awareness of plastic pollution. I love Pattie's initiative, creating an inclusive environmental movement is key for real impact. I will definitely think twice before choosing my hiking shoes and maybe consider stilettos before my next outdoor adventure. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/07/a-conversation-with-environmentalist-drag-queen-pattie-gonia/