National Geographic’s ‘Traveler of the Year’ is a Drag Queen

National Geographic magazine has named nine people as its Travelers of the Year. One of those travelers is Wyn Wylie of Bend, Oregon. 

Wylie is a drag queen who goes by the name Pattie Gonia. He is a photographer and outdoor enthusiast. Say his drag name quickly – it becomes the name of an outdoor clothing and gear company. He is all about environmentalism and climate change.

Pattie Gonia is a self-described “intersectional environmentalist, drag queen, and advocate for inclusivity in the outdoors” who works to “uplift LGBTQIA+ people and other underrepresented groups in the outdoors.” The Oregon-based performer has over 600,000 followers on social media. 

Let me say upfront – I have nothing against drag queens. It’s a form of entertainment that has existed for centuries. I have seen some live performances and they can be a lot of fun. It’s adult entertainment, though, and trying to introduce drag into everyday life is wrong. Drag should remain in a theatre, a nightclub, or other entertainment venues. 

Pattie Gonia lives the persona. 

They really have to shove this in our faces everywhere. It’s not accidental. It’s all by design. pic.twitter.com/u8XwoLVSY1

— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) February 14, 2024

National Geographic, a once great magazine, is just another woke publication now. It’s owned by Disney, so that may explain a lot. I thought Disney admitted it should not have gone political and challenged Governor DeSantis over parental participation in classrooms. Slow learners, I guess. Here they are again in the middle of a controversy involving the LGBTQ community..

National Geographic released a statement about its choice of a drag queen.

“Artist, environmentalist, and drag queen Wyn Wiley—known professionally as Pattie Gonia—helps LGBTQ+ youth discover the wonders of the outdoors,” the magazine reported.

“As founder of the nonprofit Outdoorist Oath, she brings the queer community together in the parks and wild spaces of Oregon, her home state,” National Geographic continued. “Her feel-good music videos address environmental justice and pride in identity, and include collaborators such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Indigenous trans musician Quinn Christopherson.”

The drag queen’s self-proclaimed “style” was described as “Campy, witty, sustainable, and unapologetic. A lady in the streets but a freak on the peaks.”

I bet he hasn’t toured the Middle East, at least not as Pattie. Muslim-majority countries don’t care about inclusivity or gender issues. His life would be in danger in many countries. 

He visited the White House as Pattie. Because of course, he did. 

Also… of course… pic.twitter.com/iWkcFxGYSo

— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) February 14, 2024

You might think this is another company embracing transgenderism as the new norm. I don’t think so. He doesn’t claim to be trans. He doesn’t claim any label except as a homosexual – his term, not mine. “Wiley refers to himself with male pronouns and to Pattie as she or her.” This makes Pattie his alter ego. He is using his ability to entertain for purposes of activism. He wants to encourage the next generation to enjoy the great outdoors, spread progressive propaganda about climate change, and environmental justice. 

The magazine was founded in 1888. It was founded as a scholarly journal but soon moved to being a popular magazine. This is not the National Geographic of my childhood. I loved the photography and the stories of far-away continents. The magazine brings together lessons in science, cultures, the environment, history, and geography. I haven’t seen one in years. It will soon be an online-only publication.

As of 1995, the magazine was circulated worldwide in nearly forty local-language editions and had a global circulation of at least 6.5 million per month (down from about 12 million in the late 1980s), including 3.5 million within the U.S.^[6][7] As of 2015, the magazine had won 25 National Magazine Awards.

As of October 2022, its Instagram page has 243 million followers, the most of any account not belonging to an individual celebrity.^[9] Circulation as of December 31, 2022, was about 1.8 million.

In 2023, National Geographic laid off all staff writers and will stop US newsstand sales in the next year.

If this is the direction the magazine has been taking in recent years, it is no wonder there is not a market for its newsstand publication.