Frida Kahlo: Women in History

Born in 1907, Frida Kahlo was an important women in history. She was born into a German-Mexican family where she had a very strong relationship with her father who taught her everything that made her famous in her time period. Her research has helped many people, especially those of her culture with their negative feelings, sexuality, and gender. People were touched by Kahlo’s artwork, her ability to overcome many emotional and physical traumatic events, and the way she represented her questionable identity.

Kahlo questioned her gender along with her sexuality. Frida Kahlo used all the pain in her life and turned it into remarkable paintings. Her artwork showed others that doing the same is normal and makes them feel more accepted.

Frida Kahlo was introduced to art by her father who was a photographer. Kahlo was a German-Mexican artist. Kahlo showed her pain and hardship through her artwork. There are many examples of this. One painting titled, “The Memory of the Heart” (1937) represented her emotions about her cheating husband. In this painting frida is pictured with an arrow through her heart. In 1939 Kahlo painted a painting she named, “The Two Fridas”. This painting represented her life after divorce. In this, there are two Fridas. One Frida represented the women her husband truly love and the other Frida was the real Frida. The painting, “Self-Portrait as a Tehuana” (1943), showed Frida alone. Although this is supposed to be the Frida her husband loved and not the real Frida. One of Frida Kahlo’s most emotional paintings was, “Henry Ford Hospital” (1932). This painting represented Kahlo’s miscarriage. Most of her life for others would have been felt as an unbearable, emotional tragedy.

Kahlo’s Childhood

Frida Kahlo had a rough childhood. She had Polio as a kid which made her develop a limp. Kahlo’s classmates undoubtedly made fun of her for this. Because of this, Frida found more of a friend in her father more than her peers. Kahlo’s father was a photographer. He was the one who got her into the arts. Frida Kahlo has a lot of free time where she could work on art and learn important things from her father’s talents. As a child, Frida Kahlo used the arts as a coping mechanism to deal with the torment her peers had put her through. This is what turned Kahlo into an amazing artist. She takes all of her negative feelings and contributes them to the painting.

Kahlo’s Accident

After all of this emotional pain, Kahlo also endured a great amount of physical pain. In 1925, Frida Kahlo got into a bus accident. From this accident, she suffered from fractures in her spine and pelvis. Some even believe this accident affected her artwork. They believe it was the reason her work was so famous. Most say this because she poured the physical pain she was suffering from into her artwork. This is a common theme for Frida Kahlo. Kahlo is always using her hardships to make remarkable paintings. Her artwork helped people because anyone going through a similar thing felt less alone when they saw the hardships she went through and how she still managed to be successful. Before this accident Kahlo already suffered from physical issues. She contracted Polio at the age of six. Because of this disease, her left leg grew longer than her right leg. This made Kahlo develop a limp. She ended up getting bullied because of this.

Kahlo Questioned Her Identity

Frida Kahlo questioned her sexuality which is odd because she was married to a man. Some believe that it was her husband’s cheating that changed this for her. Kahlo made other people feel more open to their sexuality. Especially those of her race. She debated whether her attraction to men was the same as her attraction to women. Now, this is complete normal, but Frida Kahlo was one of the early thinkers. Along with sexuality, Kahlo also questioned her gender. She wondered what the true definition of a woman was. Most can sees these struggles with her identity through her artwork.

Frida Kahlo, a German-Mexican artist, was a very important feminist to her country and many others. Born in 1907, Kahlo questioned sexuality and gender. Her point of view is very important to many people today. Many people of her time were inspired by Kahlo to embrace who they truly were and not be who society wants them to be. I believe that others can still learn from the story of Frida Kahlo and benefit from it. Frida Kahlo died in 1954 after a decently long lifetime of misfortune. For example, suffering from Polio, bullying, bus accident, miscarriage, cheating husband, and her questionable gender and sexuality. Despite having to overcome many traumatic events (mentally and physically), Kahlo still managed to become one of the most influential women of time.

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