Frida Kahlo: An Icon

“The celebrity can only attract curiosity and imitation of him/herself where the real hero sends us to the source and end of his vision and dreams” (Harper). Charles Harper’s essay, “How We Choose Our Heroes,” argues that celebrities often attract a large audience because of their popular status, and those who admire them are attracted to them for a sense of perfection. Many celebrities are prime examples of people who depict themselves in a way that fits other’s ideals, yet they betray who they really are on the inside. They are insecure about their flaws and true character, as many celebrities are afraid that their imperfections and unique individuality will displease the public. Many celebrities motivate the public to succeed with perfection, while someone with the greatest veneration encourages success with the embracement of flaws. Society pressures people to define themselves in a certain way, but heroism stands out in those who are also able to encourage others to disregard stereotypes while embracing their individualism. Today, society often only see heroes in men, yet strong heroes are found in anyone who stands by their own side and values when no one else will, and someone who refuses to allow their obstacles to overpower them. Regardless of social status, gender, or race, heroes make a powerful impact on others because they don’t give into society’s pressures and they have confidence in their actions.

Frida Kahlo in the 1950's. Her physical appearance consisted of her flower crowns, Tehuana clothing, and unibrow.https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/style/frida-kahlo-is-having-a-moment.html“The real hero [who] sends us to the source and end of his vision and dreams” is not a man, but a woman named Frida Kahlo. She represents the minority in the celebrity population because she acted for herself, and not for others. Kahlo grew up with many griefs. She was disabled by polio at the age of six, her right leg remaining shorter than the other, and left bedridden after a horrifying bus accident at eighteen. From here, she started to pick up painting, expressing her feelings on canvas. Unfortunately, during her time she was not recognized entirely as an influential artist, but more importantly as the wife of famous muralist Diego Rivera. Her insecurities became a central theme in her paintings, but she also emphasized her physical features in her artwork. Her unibrow and mustache are prominent features in her paintings, and they appeared even more obvious on canvas compared to real life. Kahlo is considered a hero as she constantly overlooked society’s standards when she portrayed herself in her own way and prevented her agony from serving as a limitation by using it as a strength. Frida Kahlo is not only a famous artist; she displays significant courage by developing a purpose within her insecurities, and self-confidence when defying society’s standards for women.

One of Frida Kahlo's most famous paintings, titled "The Two Fridas". Painted in 1939. It depicted her divorce with her husband, Diego Rivera.https://www.theartstory.org/artist-kahlo-frida-artworks.htmFrida Kahlo exhibits remarkable courage when she did not allow her struggles to limit her by giving them a meaning in her paintings. After Kahlo experiences a miscarriage, Rivera specifically describes how she was able to take the distressing feminine experience and publicize it to the world: “Immediately thereafter, she began to work on a series of masterpieces which had no precedent in the history of art--paintings which exalted the feminine qualities of endurance to truth, reality, cruelty, and suffering. Never before had a woman put such agonized poetry on canvas as Frida did at this time in Detroit” (Rivera). By putting extremely “agonized poetry” in paintings, Kahlo is courageous in the aspect that she was able to stand against her troubling experience and give it a significant meaning in her life that was comparable to the beauty of poetry. She depicts her courage as she faced her struggles and did not let the immense pain that her miscarriage caused her to limit her capabilities. During the 1930s where the “truth, reality, cruelty, and sufferings” of experiences such as miscarriage were concealed, Kahlo exemplifies a courageous person because she did not hesitate to publicize her cruel realities as expressive works when no one else would have done the same. Additionally, Kahlo suffered many physical and emotional pains, including her involvement in a bus accident and divorce with Rivera, but she used those factors as strong elements in her artwork: “‘She put into art things nobody had dared to put into art before. She was able to access her internal reality and shape it in such a way that it grabs the viewer’” (Malkin). Despite undergoing many physical and emotional sufferings, Kahlo displays her courage because she was able to “access her internal reality” through those painful experiences. She was able to channel the harsh realities of her insecurities, such as her disabled body and divorces’ emotional toll, into statements of art. Kahlo found a way to take her agonizing life and shape it into something purposeful, demonstrating her courage when not hesitating to be the first to take the truth of her traumatic experiences and put meaning into them through her paintings. By taking her physical and emotional struggles and turning them into statements of fortitude, Frida Kahlo exhibits her vast courage because of her ability to unfold a meaning within her insecurities.

Frida Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird". Painted in 1940, it is shown to emphasize her unibrow, which she embraced as a form of beauty.https://mymodernmet.com/frida-kahlo-paintings/Frida Kahlo displays her self-confidence by defying society’s norms for women and embracing her distinguishing qualities. During her time, there were many standards set against women that limited their political role in society. However, Frida Kahlo completely ignored these norms by confidently portraying herself as a political activist and taking pride in her involvement in the Communist party: “‘She’s become a symbol for modern women, as she didn’t respect social conventions, she did what she wanted. She represents the values of a contemporary woman: she is free, independent, and is not overcome by anything’” (Brett). Kahlo is “free and independent” because of her confidence in her own way of doing things; she embraced her role in politics and didn’t let society’s views interfere with that. Because she didn’t let society’s norm for women to be reserved take over her own ideas, Kahlo serves as “a symbol for modern women” since they identify with the confidence in her beliefs. Kahlo took pride in her ways of life when anyone else would have given into societal conventions and betrayed their own views. Furthermore, women were expected to portray themselves as feminine, but Frida Kahlo instead embraced her “manly” features as a form of beauty: “At a time when being 'feminine' was the norm for women, she was not shameful about her facial hair and even depicted it in her works” (FP Staff). Kahlo “was not shameful about her facial hair”, emphasizing her self-confidence when embracing her unibrow and mustache, which were not considered features of a woman. Despite society defining beauty as feminine, Kahlo went against those norms by making her masculine attributes bolder in her work, in contrast to their faint appearance in real life. Kahlo was apathetic about society’s standards and instead thought that her manly features made her beautiful, showing that beauty has numerous definitions. By going against society’s norms for women when being confident about her political involvement and embracing her own type of beauty, Frida Kahlo demonstrates her heroism because of her confidence in herself.

Frida Kahlo courageously put meaning into her traumatic experiences despite their negative nature, and was confident when going against society’s standards for women. Kahlo was strong when challenging her insecurities. She courageously gave her weaknesses a purpose by incorporating them in her greatest strength: painting. She had confidence in her actions and didn’t let society’s conventions interfere with that. No matter what, Kahlo portrayed a sense of empowerment: “‘Frida did what she wanted. She was brave in a very conservative society. Young women today identify with Frida; they find strength in her, and they identify with that strength’” (Brett). In a “conservative society” where women were taught to be more reserved, Kahlo didn’t hesitate to speak out, even when she was considered inferior to men. I look up to her as an icon of courage because she wasn’t afraid to voice her opinions or portray the horrors of her life to a reserved society. She didn’t care about what others thought about her, and through these actions, she inspires me to embrace who I am and what I do when considering my looks, beliefs, and ideas. Not only does she inspire myself, but she also inspires others to be courageous in any situation and to stand up against their struggles. Frida Kahlo earns a title greater than that of a celebrity because she didn’t act in a certain way for others; she acted her own way for herself. Many celebrities don’t publicize pain in order to fit society’s ideals and are beautiful according to someone else’s standards versus their own. What many people look for in a hero isn’t someone who is flawless; they look for someone ordinary who not only embraces their imperfections, but also recovers and succeeds from them. Heroes are people who embrace who they really are no matter what other people may think about them. When someone thinks of Frida Kahlo, they see her as a hero because she embodies these traits. And like her, with courage and confidence, we can be proud of our imperfections and stay true to ourselves.

Works Cited

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Women?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 Nov. 2015,

www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/09/frida-kahlo-how-life-changing-mexico-city-women.

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Women.” Firstpost, 6 July 2017, www.firstpost.com/living/frida-kahlo-femininity-and-feminism-why-the-painter-is-an-icon-for-so-many-women-3782365.html.

"Frida Kahlo." Dictionary of Hispanic Biography, Gale, 1996. Biography in Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1611000220/BIC1?u=powa9245&xid=a3e28acf.

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Malkin, Elisabeth. “Beyond the Myth, Art Endures.” The New York Times, The New York Times,

6 July 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/07/07/arts/design/07frid.html.

Oatman-Stanford, Hunter. “Uncovering Clues in Frida Kahlo’s Private Wardrobe.” Collectors

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www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/uncovering-clues-in-frida-kahlos-private-wardrobe/.

Rivera, Diego, and Gladys March. My Art, My Life: An Autobiography. Dover Publications

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