Frida Kahlo, breaking normative boundaries
Frida Kahlo cultivated her own self image and shattered normative boundaries in art.
In old family photos Frida Kahlo can be distinguished from her sisters as the only one wearing men’s clothing. Today, the Mexican surrealist painter is still remembered for transcending beauty standards of her time and shaping women’s art.
In her diary, Kahlo wrote, “of my face I like my eyebrows and eyes.” She was referring to her thick black unibrow and faint mustache, both of which are still viewed as “unfeminine” features today. Kahlo’s appearance deviated from conventional beauty norms and feminine ideals of the 1940’s, regardless, she openly embraced them and purposely accentuated her facial hair in self-portraits.
Sabrina Rodriguez is the founder of the @latinxreads Instagram account that showcases Latin American literature and authors. Rodriguez sees Kahlo’s presence in art and her experiences as ones that are still relatable to women and femmes today.
“Women aren’t perfectly sculpted, hairless, squeaky clean creatures. We’re a product of nature,” Rodriguez said.
Irene Gammel, a Ryerson University arts professor, also agrees that Kahlo’s defiance of beauty norms resonates with a lot of women today. “By embodying ideas of diversity, [Kahlo] subverted beauty ideals exposing the patriarchal framework that generates and fuels these myths,” Gammel said.
Part of this patriarchal framework Gammel refers to is the male gaze. The male gaze is widespread: it is present in film, music, art and advertisements. The term refers to a sexualized way of viewing that empowers men, while disempowering and objectifying women. Kahlo opposed these depictions and the male gaze through her self-portraits by engaging in her own self-definition.
Gammel also explained that Kahlo’s kinship with men and male interests gave her mobility in this male-dominated industry. “Kahlo competed with men professionally and even adopted some of the classically male vices of the era, such as smoking and drinking,” she said.
Gammel observed that in Kahlo’s self-portraits, her eyes are directly pointed at the audience. “Her eyes are not downcast or looking from above — which was her way of refuting the male gaze and critiquing objectified ways of casting the female subject,” Gammel said.
In “Self Portrait with Cropped Hair,” Kahlo stares straight at the viewer. She paints herself with short hair and in a navy blue suit. The rest of her hair lies around her on the floor. If you look closely you can also see the little gold earring peeking through the side of her neck. Kahlo challenges the viewer by blurring the lines between what exactly it means to be masculine or feminine.
The Spanish text at the top of the painting reads: “Look, I know I loved you, but it was only for your hair. Now that you are without hair, I don’t love you anymore.” Here Kahlo questions the construction of beauty norms and a woman’s place in the world.
In this portrait, Kahlo allows the viewer to see her pain, while maintaining her agency as she chooses how her vulnerability is defined and presented to the viewer. As a result Kahlo becomes both the observer and the observed.
Kahlo was openly bisexual and had affairs with both men and women. She was unapologetic about her sexuality and wasn’t afraid of showing who she was. “This is why people love her so much,” Rodriguez said. “She roots them and gives them a sense that they are not alone, that they are not crazy for feeling or thinking the way they do.”
Kahlo endured several hardships throughout her life, as a child she was often ill and as a teenager she was involved in a horrible bus accident. She suffered nearly fatal injuries to her pelvis, ribs, collar bone and spine. Kahlo said, “There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley [referring to the disastrous bus accident], and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.” Her husband, Diego Rivera, had multiple affairs with other women while married to Kahlo. Kahlo’s relationship with Rivera, as well as her miscarriages and her infertility were all consistent subjects in her work.
Rodriguez also praised Kahlo for creating art that came from a place of pain that allowed others to relate to it. “As a woman producing art that depicts women, Kahlo contributed to their empowerment,” Gammel said.
Kahlo refused to be seen as a victim and she confronted the male gaze through her self-portraits, boldly challenged beauty norms and shed light on the experiences shared by all womankind. Kahlo demanded that these experiences be seen as valid and in turn empowered and inspired so many women after her.
