This post is part of a new series we’re calling Seattleisms, a handy glossary of words and phrases unique to our city that’ll help you #livelikeyoulivehere.
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WHAT IS IT? A mural of legendary pin-up model Bettie Page on the side of a house in the Ravenna neighborhood visible from Interstate 5. Artist John Green and homeowner Chris Brugos painted the mural in 2006. Learn more about its history here.
DEFACED: In 2016, a group self-identified as “some feminists” defaced the Bettie Page mural by splashing grey paint on it and writing “Stop exploiting women’s bodies.” Homeowners Chris Brugos and Jessica Baxter painted over the vandals’ message with one of their own: “Autonomous sexuality is empowerment. Telling a woman to cover up is oppression.”
RESTORATION: Jessica and Chris commissioned Seattle pop culture artist Two Thangs to fix up the mural — and to give Bettie a new friend: Divine, a drag queen made famous by film director and artist John Waters. “I thought it was a perfect response,” Two Thangs told The Evergrey. “Divine presented her femininity in her own way — it was eye-grabbing and she wasn’t like her drag queen predecessors. It’s more about finding who you are.”
SEE IT: While driving on northbound I-5, near exit 170 to 65th Street.
Know of a Seattleism that we should include in our new glossary? Hit reply or email us at [email protected]. We’ll be sharing out the Seattleiest terms we can find over the next several months.