Frida Kahlo and Her Influence in the Feminist Community

Essay #2

History of Mexico

4/23/18

Frida: Breaking social norms

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, and died on July 13, 1954. She was a famous painter that lived in Mexico. She was famous for depicting many of her emotions or experiences through self-portraits. These portraits are still famous today because of the nature of the content. She uses taboo subject matter that women “should not talk about.” She wasn’t thought of as “ladylike.” Her paintings were not only a work of art but an expression of her feminist views. Frida Kahlo was a feminist icon because she defied female beauty standards, challenged gender stereotypes, and was also a political activist.

Frida did not alter her appearance to try to fit the societal norms of what it meant to be a “beautiful woman.” In her self-portraits, she would depict herself exactly as she appeared. She had a unibrow and some masculine features which can be seen in her family tree painting. Women living in Mexico in the 1900s were expected to act like a “lady,” and were not allowed to really express certain topics that could be considered “unladylike.” A simple example of this “unladylike” attitude can be seen in her mannerisms. After her accident on the bus where she broke her pelvis, she jokingly mentioned: “losing [her] virginity” (18). Women in the early to mid-1900s were expected to stay virgins until marriage and even after marriage, talking about sex was very taboo. One of Frida’s most controversial paintings was one entitled “A few small nips.” This painting showed a picture of Frida lying in a bloody hospital bed with Diego, her husband, by her side. In this painting not only was her bare body exposed, but her bare emotions on her miscarriage were displayed. This was not something commonly shared in conservative Mexico in the 1900s. Women were also deemed to be “emotional” beings, Kahlo publicly put up a strong and brave face, however, her paintings told a different story. There was a lot of emotion and meaning behind the paintings she created. There is a “mask [that] is evident in nearly every self-portrait” (26). She intentionally tried to “mask” the way she felt as a sense of defiance against society and how they told her how she should act. Personal identity was a trait that set Frida apart not only from the other women but also just other painters in general.

Along with a defiance for societal beauty standards, Frida also challenged gender stereotypes. During her youth, Frida “was sent to a to further her education at the National preparatory school in the heart of Mexico” (17). This was already an unconventional move on her part. Schools in the 1920s in Mexico were primarily male. During these high school years, she pertained to a rebellious group amongst a few other peers in which they tried to pave the way for a better future for Mexico. She was a heavy drinker from her teens throughout her adulthood. Her choice of drink: Tequila. Typically tequila was a “man's” drink and her drinking that broke yet another gender stereotype. One of the biggest examples of Frida breaking societal norms, specifically gender roles, were her affairs. In her adulthood, Frida met a man named Diego Rivera. Diego was a well known painter in Mexico. His paintings were not the only thing Diego was known for. He was a womanizer and had many affairs throughout his entire career. That aspect of his life was not kept a secret from anyone, not even Frida Kahlo but she married him anyway. After marrying Diego she became more accustomed to the role of a “wife.” Frida was a free spirit and the wife role did not satiate her desires. The 1920s was an era where women could explore their sexual desires and freely express themselves in a sexual nature. She “had come of age during the 1920s, and the new sexual permissiveness of the era suited her” (22). Frida had already been exploring her desires, but this era allowed her to do as she pleased, with whomever she pleased. She kept her affairs more discreet than Diego did, nonetheless, they both had their fair share of affairs. Frida “had many amorous relationships with women which