Pattie Gonia Explained

Wyn Wiley (born),[1] known professionally as Pattie Gonia, is a drag queen, environmental and LGBTQ+ activist, and community organizer.

Early life and education

Wiley is from Lincoln, Nebraska.[2] [3]

Gonia graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a degree in advertising and public relations in 2014.[4] Wiley has worked as a creative director and professional photographer.[5] [6] [3]

Activism and career

Wiley's first experiment with drag was in early 2018, as the character "Ginger Snap".[7] [2] In October 2018, Wiley created the character Pattie Gonia, producing short-form outdoors activism content on Instagram and TikTok, while in drag.[1] [8] The first video as Pattie Gonia, posted on October 3, gained more than 100 million views.[6] [9] The name Pattie Gonia is a pun on Patagonia, an American outdoor clothing company.[1] [5] Pattie Gonia's activism focuses on environmental and LGBTQ+ issues, promoting acceptance of queer identities in the environmentalist and outdoors communities, and promoting awareness of climate change and its effects.[3] [1] Euronews described this form of activism as "intersectional environmentalism".[10]

In addition to online content, Pattie Gonia organizes in-person hikes and events for LGBT+ and environmental causes.[11] [12] They also developed a job board for queer outdoorists.[8]

In January 2022, Wiley co-founded "The Outdoorist Oath", a nonprofit working on diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental causes in the outdoors community.[13] [14] [15] Pattie Gonia partnered with The North Face for their 2022 "Summer of Pride" series.[16] The series comprised four outdoor community-building events focused on local LGBTQ+ engagement and acceptance.[17] [18]

In 2020, Pattie Gonia was named to the Out100, Out magazine's annual list of the "most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people."[6] [19] They were also nominated for the Shorty Awards in the LGBTQ+ category.[20]

In 2023, Time magazine included Pattie Gonia in their list of Next Generation Leaders.[21]

Media coverage

In December 2018, Wiley was interviewed by REI alongside the release of his first music video as Pattie Gonia.[22] [23] In November 2019, Pattie Gonia was the subject of a REI documentary titled "Dear Mother Nature".[24] [20] [25] It was accompanied by a shorter, 3-minute spoken word poem video titled "Everything to Lose".[26] [27] Pattie Gonia later produced a video with BBC News about the activist's work in March 2020.[28]

Pattie Gonia attracted media attention for attending the January 2019 Outdoor Retailer trade show in all-white drag.[2]

In October 2022, Pattie Gonia was the subject of media coverage for their Halloween costume, where they dressed as climate change.[29] They have previously designed other outfits in support of climate causes and awareness, such as a dress and wigs made of recycled trash, for their TikTok and Instagram content.[30] [11] [31]

In 2023, Pattie Gonia released "Won't Give Up" with famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Indigenous trans musician Quinn Christopherson.[32] The music video was filmed in Kenai Fjords National Park as a tribute to Exit Glacier, a melting glacier in Alaska which was once a hundred feet tall.[33]

Personal life

Pattie Gonia uses she/they pronouns when in drag and while out of drag Wyn Wiley uses he/they pronouns. Wiley identifies as a gay male.[34] He lives in Oregon.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Meet Pattie Gonia, the Backpacking Drag Queen Promoting Inclusivity in the Outdoors. December 11, 2018. SELF.
  2. Web site: Outdoorsqueen Pattie Gonia Wants You to Find Your Six-Inch Heels. August 12, 2019. Outside.
  3. Web site: Meet The Drag Queen Environmentalist Helping Queer People Find Freedom In Nature. July 20, 2022. HuffPost.
  4. Web site: Weinberger . Madi . December 4, 2014 . Photographer Wyn Wiley has 'phenomenal eye for capturing life' . 2022-11-23 . The Daily Nebraskan . en.
  5. Web site: Outside . Grace Perry for . November 15, 2018 . Pattie Gonia: the drag queen Eagle Scout who dances on mountaintops . The Guardian.
  6. Web site: Pattie Gonia Is Taking Drag Outdoors for Climate Activism. February 25, 2022. Out Traveler.
  7. Web site: For This Outdoor Drag Queen, the Trail Is a Runway. Sierra Club.
  8. Web site: Q&A: Pattie Gonia on Outdoor Advocacy and Nature's Queerness. Annie. Klusendorf. April 19, 2022. Field Mag.
  9. Web site: This Backpacking Drag Queen Makes Hiking in Heels Look Easy. January 11, 2019. ELLE.
  10. Web site: Meet Pattie Gonia: An environmental drag queen on a mission. Maeve. Campbell. October 22, 2020. Euronews.
  11. Web site: A conversation with environmentalist drag queen Pattie Gonia » Yale Climate Connections. Sarah. Kennedy. July 16, 2021. Yale Climate Connections.
  12. Web site: Meet the drag queen on a mission to create safe outdoor spaces for underrepresented communities. November 29, 2021. The Seattle Times.
  13. Web site: Pattie Gonia Is the Intersectional Environmentalist Drag Queen Making a Difference (Exclusive). Sophie. Hirsh. August 9, 2022. Green Matters.
  14. Web site: Activists Launch "Outdoorist Oath" Community to Celebrate "Planet, Inclusion, and Adventure". Sophie. Hirsh. January 14, 2022. Green Matters.
  15. Web site: What It Means to Sign On to the New Outdoorist Oath. Sierra Club.
  16. Web site: The North Face and Pattie Gonia Team Up for 'Summer of Pride'. Hayley. Helms. May 23, 2022. Gear Patrol.
  17. Web site: Pattie Gonia and The North Face Team up for Summer of Pride. Giorgia. Menetre. Teton Gravity Research.
  18. Web site: The North Face taps drag queen Pattie Gonia to celebrate Pride. Maya. Ernest. Input. 23 May 2022 .
  19. Web site: Out100 2019. Out.
  20. Web site: Pattie Gonia - The Shorty Awards. Shorty Awards.
  21. Mandel . Kyla . How This Drag Queen Is Fostering an Inclusive Outdoor Community . October 31, 2023 . . October 5, 2023.
  22. Web site: Pattie Gonia, Backpacking Queen, Releases Her First Full-Length Video. Aer. Parris. December 10, 2018. REI.
  23. Web site: Climb Every Mountain | Pattie Gonia. www.youtube.com.
  24. Web site: REI Presents: 'Everything to Lose' by Pattie Gonia. R. E. I.. Staff. November 21, 2019. REI.
  25. Web site: REI Presents: Dear Mother Nature, starring Pattie Gonia. www.youtube.com.
  26. Web site: Live Like Pattie Gonia: Mother Nature Takes Pride in YOU. Katie. Lozancich. Teton Gravity Research. 7 July 2019 .
  27. Web site: REI Presents: Everything to Lose by Pattie Gonia. www.youtube.com.
  28. News: Hiking and beach cleaning - in heels and drag. BBC News.
  29. Web site: Drag queen Pattie Gonia wanted a scary Halloween costume. She went as climate change. Halisia. Hubbard. October 31, 2022. NPR.
  30. Web site: Pattie Gonia Is the Drag Queen Bringing Environmentalism to TikTok. October 3, 2021. Vogue.
  31. Web site: Pattie Gonia: The drag queen on a mission to save the mothertuckin' planet. March 23, 2021. Attitude.
  32. Web site: 2023-10-05 . How This Drag Queen Is Fostering an Inclusive Outdoor Community . 2024-02-12 . Time . en.
  33. Web site: Veltman . Chloe . November 14, 2023 . This trio hopes 'Won't Give Up' will become an anthem for the climate movement . NPR.
  34. Web site: Pattie Gonia is Making Hiking Fabulous . 6 February 2019 . 2022-11-12 . 2022-11-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221120192358/https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/pattie-gonia-drag-queen-outdoor-retailer/ . live .

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