Seattle Superheroes: Mama Tits

The Seattle drag queen backs down from no villain

By Seattle Mag February 3, 2016

A cartoon of a woman in a purple dress.

Seattle Superheroes is a regular series on seattlemag.com wherein artists depict standout people in our community as superheroes. While we’ve taken some artistic license with the narratives, the sentiment behind them is very real.

There she stood. Staring down the villainous bigot who was picketing at the 2014 Seattle Pride Parade. In the history of queer folks, often their most vitriolic haters have had the upper hand. But not that day.

Mama Tits, a.k.a. Brian Daniel Peters, in all her piercing-eyed strength and her more than six-foot frame, looked down at the little man in the blue t-shirt and said, “Not today.”

A video of the confrontation received millions of YouTube hits, and countless articles calling her a “gay pride hero” appeared in various outlets, including The Huffington Post and Bustle. She even achieved celebrity status in Russia. People began to find out about one of Seattle’s most visible superheroes, with her combination of stalwart power and fast-paced mental energy.

Her courageous act that day in July 2014 would be enough to cement Mama Tits as a superhero for all time. But there is also so much more to the Seattle drag queen. She is the star around which Seattle’s number one drag brunch (akin to dinner theater during the day), Mimosas with Mama, is based. She is also the central character in the new show, Mayhem with Mama, a mash-up of Mama Mia, Hairspray and Little Shop of Horrors.

“Slammed together, these revamped musicals become one zany roller coaster,” Peters says. “It’s a quick-change extravaganza!”

Mayhem with Mama debuts for one night only in Seattle on Tuesday, February 16, at the Triple Door at 7:30 pm. The show also stars Tipsy Rose Lee (the show’s choreographer and creative developer), Isabella Extynn, Ruby Buche and Dan Davidson.

After that performance for the month of March, Peters notes they’ll be taking the whole show to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Soon the entire world will know the glory of Mama Tits.

About the artist: Poster Bot is a Seattle-based illustrator and writer. His work, like this piece, can be read on The Monarch Review.