Most people know of Frida Kahlo as simply the artist with the unibrow. However, she was so much more than that. She was a brilliant artist who changed the Mexican art scene and paved the way for many female artists after her. Kahlo battled pain and suffering almost her entire life but channeled that struggle into her beautiful artwork. She leaves behind not only these pieces of art but also a lasting impact on many things in society.
Many people don’t know that Frida Kahlo remains a feminist icon. Throughout her life, she lived unabashedly her way. She rejected what many people said she should look like, what she should wear, and what art she should create. Even in the 1900s, when gender inequality was standard practice, she refused to yield to anyone telling her how to live.
Frida didn’t change her appearance based on what other people thought she should look like. She didn’t get rid of her unibrow or faint mustache that people often labeled too “masculine”. She rather embraced them, exaggerating them in her self-portraits which ended up being some of her most famous works. Her facial hair became one of the things that she is most recognized by.
Even in her paintings, she touched on issues important to women, such as abortion, birth, and breastfeeding. Back during her time, these things were extremely taboo and never spoken about publicly. She published her work and stood by it, no matter how uncomfortable it made people feel. She expressed her experiences openly in her work and would not censor herself based on society’s standards.
Many people admire her, not for her beliefs, but for the way she lived. By not caring what society thought of her, she allowed other women to follow in her footsteps to feel more comfortable expressing themselves in their own way.
Along with being an icon for feminist ideas, Kahlo is also known for being “Mexico’s most famous bisexual”. While being married to Diego Rivera, she is known to have slept with both men and women outside of the relationship. There is speculation that one of her paintings, Two Nudes in a Forest, even depicts actress Dolores del Rio, her suspected girlfriend of the time, naked resting on the other figure’s lap. Later, notes were found that also suggested that she was in an intimate relationship with a painter from America.
Kahlo was known for being unashamedly herself. This is what has cemented her in history. Not just her stance on feminist ideals or her sexuality. Only the fact that no matter what opposition she faced, she remained true to herself and didn’t let other people dictate what she was going to do.