Pattie Gonia has delivered an inspiring TED Talk, combining the drag movement and environmentalism. With her unique approach, the artist offers a different perspective on how joy is key to addressing climate change.

Under the title, ‘Why joy is a serious way to take action’, the 10-minute presentation offered an intimate look into Pattie Gonia’s journey, intertwining fun anecdotes with some of her achievements and her climate change activism.

Within a distinctive humorous tone, she shared a photo on screen taken during a backpacking trip at the height of her “quarter-life crisis,” where she posed in high heels, signalling the birth of her drag persona.

She recalled how, during a personal “flop era”, drag helped her see new possibilities for her future and embrace the process of transformation. She extended this analogy to the planet, noting that Earth is also currently undergoing a “flop era” of its own and could benefit from the transformative power of drag.

In a pink dress that displayed the words “Climate Change is a Drag” in big sparkly letters, she represented how “drag is an invitation to build new futures through creativity and diversity and joy.”

Therefore, she stated why the climate movement should welcome and learn from the art form. In the same way “drag welcomes our diversity,” the environmentalism movement should embrace creativity and inclusion as essential components of solving the climate crisis.

During the TED Talk, Pattie Gonia pointed out that some people in the movement may not feel safe or comfortable expressing themselves fully, and as a result, they may be holding back their most innovative ideas.

She also spoke about queer history and highlighted how drag queens have always been at the forefront of protests and activism. In a moment when queer people were put in jail and no one was joining the fight, drag performers were the ones who stood up for the cause, turning pain into joy. 

 

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Pattie’s powerful and entertaining perspective on how to address the planet’s urgent environmental crisis through drag relies on joy. “Joy is a strategy to fight back,” she remarked.

“The problem in the climate movement isn’t just the abundance of carbon; it is the lack of joy,” she added, stating that the doom and gloom surrounding climate change drive people to focus too much on despair. 

For this reason, “joy provides an unbelievable opportunity to make the climate movement irresistible,” she said. 

The artist concluded her revolutionary speech appealing to the public once more: “Do not underestimate the power of joy. We deserve more than doom and gloom because this is the only planet with a Beyoncé on it.”