In the month of March, dedicated to celebrating and highlighting achievements of women throughout history, I do not know about you, but one very important woman comes to my mind: Frida Kahlo who lived from 1907-1954.
Much of this rulebreaker’s strong femininity gets covered by her pieces of poetry and art that depict her longing for her husband, Diego Rivera. In order to understand these pieces one must understand the feminism that was there long before Rivera.
She won tequila challenges against men, dressed in “manly” clothing, and boxed for exercise. She dressed as a man for a family photo standing next to her mother and sisters who wore dresses and jewelry. She did not change her non-feminine features such as her monobrow and a faint mustache. In her art, she emphasized these aspects of herself finding them to be beautiful.
As well as gender roles, Kahlo had also defied the hush hush of sexuality of her time with her openness about her sexual orientation. She was openly bisexual and could not care to not be herself.
From Kahlo’s art, one can see that she painted real life. She painted real feminine experiences. When thinking of her protest to the illusion that is what it meant to be feminine back then, I think of her piece with the woman lying on the bed. There are strings connecting her to all of these fears that come with being pregnant. One of the strings is connected to a baby, the other is connected to hip bones, another one a snail, all depicting the fears of miscarriage, abortion and life as a women. All of these fears are very real and very feminine.
Finally, Kahlo depicted herself as a victim but did not let that define her. It was as if she created this persona only to be the opposite.
She had contracted polio at age six, she had spina bifida, and at age 18 she got in a horrible car accident that left her unable to bear children. When she was bedridden for months after her accident, she began to paint. She painted herself with a sense of despair as she transformed her pain into passion. Her paintings imply her pain. They include images such as nails in her skin and tears down her face, but in her paintings, her gaze always stares strong.
While so many women have been written off as the victim, Kahlo’s paintings remind of us the idea that pain is not what defines you.
Frida Kahlo was the icon of rule-breaking. She was well aware of how unique she was for her time and encouraged others to embrace their uniqueness as well. So in this women’s history month, if you are having trouble embracing your uniqueness, please think of Frida Kahlo and remember what she was all about.
Happy international women’s history month!