Current:Home > ScamsDrag queen Pattie Gonia wanted a scary Halloween costume. She went as climate change-LoTradeCoin
Drag queen Pattie Gonia wanted a scary Halloween costume. She went as climate change
View Date:2024-12-24 00:26:05
Drag queen Pattie Gonia said she wanted a very scary costume for Halloween this year.
"And honestly, what is scarier than climate change?" the Nebraska native told NPR over the phone while doing their two-hour makeup routine.
Pattie lives in Bend, Ore., and describes themself as a drag queen, intersectional environmentalist and "professional homosexual." They do lots of community organizing and co-founded The Oath, a nonprofit that aims to diversify the outdoor community.
The costume features a dress by Zero Waste Daniel that was made entirely of fabric scraps that would have otherwise been wasted. They started on the project a year and a half ago.
Pattie Gonia, who uses they/them and she/her pronouns in drag and whose non-drag name is Wyn Wiley, tried to reuse as much as she could for the rest of the look, including a bejeweled bag shaped like a stack of money, her nails and her signature tall auburn wig.
The dress includes symbols of climate devastation. At the bottom, a polar bear stands in a melting Arctic; an oil rig and factory appear on the dress's body; and a choking bird makes up one sleeve. Taylor Swift's private jet, complete with a trail of carbon, is set in Pattie's hair.
She said queerness and drag belong in environmentalism. "Drag has always been at the forefront of social justice movements," Pattie said. She wants to use the comedy and entertainment that often go hand in hand with drag as tools to communicate abstract and deep concepts.
Many in the LGBTQ community are also all too familiar with one approach to sparking climate action: guilt.
"I think there is so much personal guilt that people feel when it comes to the climate movement, because we've been hit with messaging for the past 50 years that it's our personal responsibility," Pattie said, adding that corporate profits are at an all-time high in 70 years.
"Especially for queer people, we know that shame and guilt are really powerful motivators, but they burn you out really fast."
One of the most important aspects of their work to inspire climate action, Pattie Gonia explained, is helping get people into nature.
"We fight for what we love," she said. "And I think if we can encourage people to get outside to connect to this planet, they're gonna fight so much harder for it, because they love it."
veryGood! (847)
Related
- FBI raids New York City apartment of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, reports say
- GOP House panel raises questions about $200K check from James Biden to Joe Biden. Biden spokesman says there's zero evidence of wrongdoing.
- 'The Golden Bachelor' contestant Kathy has no regrets: 'Not everybody's going to love me'
- Connecticut postmaster admits to defrauding USPS through cash bribes and credit card schemes
- Agents search home of ex-lieutenant facing scrutiny as police probe leak of school shooting evidence
- At Cairo summit, even Arab leaders at peace with Israel expressed growing anger over the Gaza war
- South Korea, US and Japan hold first-ever trilateral aerial exercise in face of North Korean threats
- How Brittany Mahomes, Sophie Turner and Other Stars Earned a Spot on Taylor Swift's Squad
- Alexandra Daddario Shares Candid Photo of Her Postpartum Body 6 Days After Giving Birth
- Mother arrested after dead newborn found in garbage bin behind Alabama convenience store
Ranking
- Watch out, Temu: Amazon Haul, Amazon's new discount store, is coming for the holidays
- Brian Kelly earns $500,000 bonus with Army win that makes LSU bowl-eligible
- At least 28 people drown after boat capsizes on river in northwest Congo
- Former Albanian prime minister says he’s charged with corruption and money laundering in land deal
- Jordan Chiles Reveals She Still Has Bronze Medal in Emotional Update After 2024 Olympics Controversy
- Dolly Parton's first-ever rock 'n' roll album addresses global issues: I didn't think of that as political
- A car bombing at a Somali military facility kills 6 people, including 4 soldiers, police say
- Former MLB pitcher Danny Serafini arrested in connection with 2021 murder case
Recommendation
-
MLS Star Marco Angulo Dead at 22 One Month After Car Crash
-
The Vampire Diaries' Kat Graham Marries Bryant Wood in Surprise Ceremony
-
'Sloppy game:' Phillies confidence shaken after Craig Kimbrel meltdown in NLCS Game 4
-
They were Sam Bankman-Fried's friends. Now they could send him to prison for life
-
Early Week 11 fantasy football rankings: 30 risers and fallers
-
Gov. Kathy Hochul learns of father's sudden death during emotional trip to Israel
-
Former Albanian prime minister says he’s charged with corruption and money laundering in land deal
-
Canada recalls 41 of its diplomats from India amid escalating spat over Sikh slaying