BIO:

Frida Kahlo, born in 1907, years before the Mexican Revolution. She’s an artist, political activist
and a feminist.

She’s well known for her striking self portraits and traditional vesture. Her paintings portrays
sadness, tragedy, femininity and masculinity.

Disabilities: deformed leg since age 6. 1925: bus accident.

-> Shaped her self image and her sense of pain and suffering, which was shown throughout most
of her self portraits. She often performed the male gender rather than female gender.

Often disguised herself (almost unrecognizable) as a male in family photos and at the same time
played an extremely lavish and unique Mexican woman with strong Mexican identity.

-> International icon for feminist movement.

Husband: Diego Rivera, also a painter. Frida’s his 2nd wife. They had an open relationship and
had extramarital relations (for Frida: a female entertainer and a female painter).

-> Challenge her Catholics upbringing.

PAINTINGS

“Moses”: - Frida’s indigenous identity

- Fetus at the center: birth of a hero and fingers pointing at other heroes -> Human race
needs to follow.

- Use of strong female goddess (Egyptian Nefertiti) -> demonstrates her heroes were of
both genders.

“Self portrait with cropped hair”: performing gender and sex.

Background: after finding out Diego and her sister had an affair for almost a year -> chopped her
hair, which was Diego’s most favorite part of her and created the portrait.
-> Distancing herself from the very feminine, she’s completely in control of her sexuality and her
power over Diego.

-> Self representation: wearing black suit ( as a statement of power and masculinity) with
feminine earrings -> She still retains bits of her femininity.

-> This shows a more solemn and masculine side of Frida after her divorce from Diego.

Why is she considered as a feminist? Her Mexican heritage, personal exp., and traumas as
components that add to her womanhood and female sensibility. She also deals with many
subjects that are inherently feminine: miscarriage, childbirth, physical appearance, sexuality and
her indigenous heritage in terms of gender. Gender is the central theme that connects her work
together, and her art continues to act as a means of therapy and survival.

Kahlo’s identity intersects heavily with her performance of gender and transforms the meaning
of her work. As someone with indigenous heritage, there is a tendency for discrimination she had
to face, or “the belief in the inherent superiority of one race [Spanish] over all others and thereby
the right to dominance,” present in Mexican society that marginalizes indigenous communities.
Rather than bury the differences between classes in Mexican society, Frida openly addresses the
beauty of indigenous women. She also deliberately chooses to dress in traditional Tehuana style
in order to appeal to the Mexican population. Not all women are the same, and this recognition is
what will lead to progression. This is a main reason why Kahlo’s work is so frequently
represented in pop-culture. The feminist movement gains by learning from strong women of
color.

Frida actually gains independence and power from being able to identify in an androgynous
space between male and female. When she performs the male gender, she is able to feel the
freedoms of being a male, and she is empowered to partake in the political realm. Through her
costume she rejected the European clothing that had become predominant in Mexico, and her
depiction of her own physical trauma served as a reflection of the suffering she saw in her
country. She was among the artists who sought, above all, to create a specifically Mexican
identity and unity.
She represents a strong woman who was unafraid of androgyny, death, or the male political
realm. Not only did she value her mixed heritage identity, but she also valued her identity as a
woman and the way in which this identity changed throughout her life. Through her self-
portraits, one can observe the various ways in which she self-represents and performs gender,
female or male. The present day obsession with Frida resounds with the millennial generation
and the current wave of feminism taking place among the younger population.

References:

1. Frida Kahlo and the Feminine by Lauren Mushro (2018)

2. https://www.firstpost.com/living/frida-kahlo-femininity-and-feminism-why-the-painter-is-an-icon-
for-so-many-women-3782365.html

3. https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/art-of-the-mexican-revolution-forming-a-
united-national-identity/

4. https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-cropped-hair.jsp

5. https://www.fridakahlo.org/moses.jsp

6. https://rosie.org.au/blog/6-reasons-frida-kahlo-feminist-icon/