Pattie Gonia Is the Drag Queen Bringing Environmentalism to TikTok – Vogue
How would you define your drag style?
I would define my drag style as unshowered. My drag style has evolved over the years from just wearing heels to sporting full drag looks based on animals like birds (the drag queens of the sky!), or creating looks out of upcycled materials from plastic bags to tents. My love of drag and the outdoors has always been one in the same. What a lot of people don’t know about drag is that its roots are in social justice. Drag queens (primarily queens of color) were at the front lines advocating for the gay rights movement. Nowadays, it’s my goal to honor drag’s original roots of social justice, but also fight for environmental justice as well.
We need to know all the details about this trash dress.…
Ah! Thanks! That’s one of my favorites! My best friend and I were sitting in quarantine with nothing to do, so we made it out of trash from our house and our family’s houses. Yolo.
And this leaf dress. Do your drag looks have any sustainable elements to them?
Yes they do! I try to make my looks as low-waste as possible. But I have to give myself a lot of grace, because I’m never perfect. I also try to stick to using the same make-up palettes and not using things like glitter, which is made up of micro plastics and end up in our oceans for thousands of years.
What else inspires you when it comes to creating your drag looks?
No greater inspiration than Mother Natch herself.
How did you manage to rock climb in heels?!
I manage by falling on my ass (and frequently), but I’ve been hiking in heels for 3 years now so these ankles have some experience.
What has been your most viral video, and why do you think it went viral?
My most viral video was actually Pattie’s first ever video, dancing to Fergie’s ‘London Bridge’ while eating Hot Cheetos. I think it went viral because I believe there’s a little drag queen in everybody.
What’s your favorite TikTok of all time? And which one took you the longest?
My favorite TikTok is the one where I’m dressed up as Lady Liberty and I launch a voodoo doll of Trump out of a slingshot made of a surgical mask. That one also took the longest—many attempts of getting the perfect slingshot launch of Trump.
What’s the next big idea you want to attempt on TikTok?
A project I’m planning for this winter is to travel to Alaska and, in full drag perform a spoken word funeral for a melting glacier.