In the past I have channeled other style icons (Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Hello Kitty), so I was very excited when the Feminist Fashion Bloggers group decided to kick off women's history month with a series of posts on feminist fashion icons.
I picked twentieth century Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). I have admired Frida Kahlo for many years, and visited her hours (La Casa Azul) when I was in Mexico City for a research trip back in 2006. Her works are full of vibrant and intense colors, dramatic symbolism, emotion, and autobiographic elements. They fetch higher prices than any other female artist and have been admired for their depictions of the female body and for the experience of women. For me, as for many feminists, it's Frida's open depiction of the pain of women that makes her a feminist icon.
Growing up during the Mexican Revolution, stricken by polio as a child, and then injured in a bus accident as a teenager, Kahlo was no stranger to pain and struggle. The accident left her with numerous injuries and unable to have children. Although she was eventually able to walk again, she had to have numerous operations and spent weeks at a time in hospitals or in bed due to intense pain. This was also a turning point for Frida, who had planned to go into medicine. She began painting while still in a full body cast and painted a number of self-portraits.
During her lifetime, Frida was mostly overshadowed on the international art scene by her husband the muralist Diego Rivera. Both were impetuous and had fiery tempers. They both engaged in multiple extramarital affairs. Frida was openly bisexual and had affairs with both men, including Leon Trotksy, and women, such as Josephine Baker. She smoked and drank tequila. She loved to cook and entertain. She associated herself with Mexico, with the Revolution, and with communism. She continued to paint in spite of her lack of reputation and in spite of the fact that it was much harder for women to get solo exhibits.
I even tried to channel a little Frida yesterday with bright colors and a flower in my hair.
Who are your feminist fashion and style icons?
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