pattie gonia's latest stunt echoes the silent protests of 1969 Stonewall — but with sequins.
In a move that environmental and queer activists are calling "the campiest civil disobedience since the Compton's Cafeteria riot," drag queen and climate advocate pattie gonia channeled the spirit of the 1969 Stonewall uprising by chaining herself to the gates of a major oil conference in Houston yesterday. Sporting a gown made entirely of recycled plastic bottles and a sign reading "Mother Nature is Trans," Gonia's protest mirrors the spontaneous, defiant energy of the Stonewall riots — where marginalized communities refused to be silent. "We’re not just fighting for queer liberation anymore," Gonia shouted before being escorted away. "We're fighting for a livable planet, and that fight looks a lot like the one our elders started." Historians note the parallel: both moments weaponize visibility and joy against systemic erasure.