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Rebecca Welton 4/22/14

History 687 Final Draft
Painting Reality: Frida Kahlos Life and Artwork as a Lens for Political and Social Revolution in
20
th
Century Mexico
Between 1910 and 1920, the Mexican Revolution raged on, affecting all that were either
fighting against the regime of dictator Porfirio Daz , for it, or waiting out the conflict. Many
people wished for indigenous rights and participation in government. Other people were angered
at the fixing of elections and the totalitarian state that Daz imposed. Still more were angry about
the lack of food and the failing economy under the dictators rule. Whatever their individual
reasons, many lower-class Mexicans and their allies decided that they had had enough of his
totalitarian regime and wanted a new form of government. However, the aftermath of the
Revolution left many things unsolved and unclear for more than a few Mexican citizens. Some
felt as if it was successful, but others felt as if either too much or too little change had occurred.
There was infighting between the heroes of the revolution as they all clawed at each others
throats for a chance to rule the country. It would be some time before some actual change was
made, and, sadly, some of the changes were dealt away with as conservative capitalism became
the rule of the land. Many Mexicans turned to Communism for answers. Others tried to wait out
the storm.
During the tumultuous Mexican Revolution and its still ambiguous aftermath, political
and social art flourished, with many different artists with diverse backgrounds painting, writing,
and otherwise expressing their ideas about the tense political situation. Some of the most famous
of these included muralists, such as Diego Rivera, that painted huge, grandiose pieces celebrating
traditional Mexican culture and supporting a turn toward more socialist thought. The Revolution
also produced many writers and poets who recorded their experiences and hopes for the future.
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The aftermath of the Revolution also was a great period for art and expression, with many artists
expressing their pleasure or displeasure at the outcomes of the decade of fighting, or their sorrow
at the great loss of life that came out of the Revolution. Some focused on the positive outcomes
of the Revolution, but others felt as if things had gone too far or not far enough and continued to
paint politically charged pieces that called for change.
In a mass of culture that was being produced, one of the most unique, bold, and forward
thinking artistic perspectives during the Mexican Revolution and afterward was that of a woman:
Frida Kahlo. She was a forward-thinking supporter of the Indigenismo movement as well as of
the Communist Party and the sometimes wife and partner of the muralist Diego Rivera. Frida, a
disabled woman racked with pain and suffering for most of her adult life, was nonetheless
outspoken and bold in her statements through art as well as the clothing that she wore which was
usually culturally and politically charged. Although there were some other artists that had similar
views, none can say that they had the same life experience as Frida, whose life was a series of
tragedies, or that they embraced their ideology, painting their reality as fully as she did. Frida, as
she presented herself in mannerisms and attire as well as her artwork evoked a unique viewpoint
as an observer to the conflict of the Mexican Revolution, and a strong participant in much of its
aftermath. Seeing the Socio-Political Revolution through her eyes may provide insight as to how
a woman might have viewed the actions of Daz, the capitalistic world that the Revolution
birthed, and the Communist agenda.
Abstract
Using Frida Kahlo and her artwork as a form of viewfinder, one can not only get into the
mind of one of the most unique artists of the Revolution and afterward, but one can also see how
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the Revolution, both social and political, affected her thoughts and judgment. Granted, there
were many artists that displayed their political ideology on canvas, wall, or paper, but few
personalized their experience as much as Frida. The intent of this study is to see just how the
political turmoil in Mexico affected an active politically minded woman like Frida, as well as
what kinds of change she wanted to see in Mexico and how she displayed her socio-political
ideology in a unique manner. For one thing, it is important to examine the many key aspects of
Fridas identity as well. The aspects were of a feminist woman, a devotee of the Communist
Party, and that of a strong but uniquely-minded supporter of the Indigenismo Movement.
Examining these factors and placing Kahlo in a specific group may also help to shed some light
on her unique vision and see how it worked in the larger context. Women especially are often
overlooked during the Mexican Revolution, which, until recently, was considered a very
masculine movement, led by men in power. Indigenistas were the outspoken people who spoke
out for those who could not speak for themselves or had no outlet to do so. Finally, Communists
were vilified on a large scale for going against the ideals of capitalism and daring to make
statements against the United States.
Kahlos artwork and attire were her ways to express her political ideologies in a world
where she had no other agency to do so. As she states in her diary, she often lamented not being
as useful to the Communist Party as she felt she should be.
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As such, Kahlo and her artwork are
not only important as lenses to a conflict and its eventual result, but also as a manifestation of her
ideologies as a revolutionary-minded woman. Because Kahlo was disabled and eventually unable
to even physically attend Communist and Indigenous rights rallies, her artwork served as her
presence. When she was more able-bodied and active, her attire served as a silent message to

1
Kahlo, Frida (Carlos Fuentes, Sarah M. Lowe, and Phyllis Freeman, transl). The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate
Self-Portrait, 255.
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those around her, regardless if she dressed like a modern worker or like an indigenous woman.
While many see Kahlo as simply an artist and a feminist, it is important for this analysis that the
aspect of Kahlo as a socio-political commentator and actor be the key focus.
Fridas Story
So where exactly does Frida Kahlo fit in the grand scheme of the Mexican Revolution
and the events that followed? Who was she, and what about her life experiences inspired her to
paint such politically charged pieces of art and dress in such a bold manner? What in her life
story inspired her to become a strong political supporter of revolutionary movements? Fridas
story began in July of 1907 in her familys home known as the Casa Azul, the Blue House.
2

Her mother was part-Indian and a very religiously-devout woman with whom Frida would have a
tenuous relationship with at best.
3
Frida had a very good relationship with her father, Wilhelm
Kahlo, later known as Guillermo Kahlo, a German immigrant who came to Mexico when he was
young.
4
He was a photographer and Frida spent a lot of time in his studio learning how to
process and create photographs, likely influencing her artistic career later on in her life.
5
When
Frida was six years old, she developed polio and it strongly afflicted her right leg, withering it to
a thin, weakened state.
6
Guillermo continued to motivate his ailing daughter in order to improve
her health and speed her recovery, taking her on outings and encouraging her to exercise more
out of deep concern for his favorite child.
7
Frida eventually was able to enter primary school,
later than most children because of her illness.

2
Zamora, Martha Frida Kahlo: The Brush of Anguish, (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990), 15.
3
Ibid., 16.
4
Ibid., 18.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.
5

In 1922 Frida entered high school at the Mexico City National Preparatory School, her
bright mind earning her this prestigious placing which was even more astounding as women had
only just been allowed to enter the school and were still largely in the minority as they composed
only thirty-five out of a class of two thousand students.
8
Interestingly, although Frida was older
than her peers, she claimed that her birthdate was 1910, one of the most significant details about
her life at the prep school because 1910 was the year that the Mexican Revolution began.
9

Because she claimed to be a daughter of the Revolution openly, it is clear that at this point in
her life, she believed in the cause that the Revolution stood for enough to place the year of its
inception as her false date of birth. She also met Diego Rivera at the school, baffling her peers
with her attraction to him and playing mischievous tricks on him and his wife as they worked on
creating murals in the school.
10
Frida also fell in love with the leader of a political gang on the
campus, Alejandro Gmez Arias, stating that although they were sweethearts they didnt plan on
marrying and instead, he helped to ignite her bold and ambitious personality as well as her
understanding of love.
11
She was indeed a very bold woman from as early on as her time at the
prep school, engaging in affairs, breaking rules, and wearing questionable attire.
12
Eventually,
this behavior would lead to her fathers business failing and Frida herself having to enroll in a
business school in 1925 in order to find employment to support her family.
13

The very same year, the tragedy that would change Fridas life forever occurred. She was
riding on a bus with Alejandro after the two had a wonderful day at the Mexican National Day
events, buying toys and visiting many of the different stalls. They caught a bus that was leaving

8
Ibid., 19.
9
Ibid., 20.
10
Ibid., 22.
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid., 23.
13
Ibid.
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the city and heading toward her home. Tragically, the bus collided with a streetcar that the driver
thought it could pass in front of, heavily damaging the bus to the point that it is described as
having shattered from the impact.
14
Alejandro was one of the first people to come to and
desperately began to search for Frida, eventually finding her quite literally impaled on a handrail
of the broken bus, naked, and covered in blood.
15
He got help, but as the rail was pulled from
Fridas body, many of her bones broke and in horror Alejandro took her to a pool hall wrapped
in his coat where he begged and pleaded for the hospital that they were eventually taken to to
help her, even though she was considered beyond help.
16
In the hospitals care for a month,
Frida had several profound statements to make about her wounds, including that she lost her
virginity in the accident due to the position of the rail that impaled her and that Death dances
around (her) bed at night, contemplating her fate with little else to do.
17
She eventually was
allowed to return home, but was completely immobilized and confined to her bed. It was here in
a cocoon of pain that Frida began to paint.
18
She was subjected to many different backwards
medical positions including a series of painful corsets, operations, and eventually a full body
plaster cast that even further restrained her movement.
19
At the same time, Fridas parents were
struggling to pay back the mortgage on their home as well as dealing with their own worsening
health. To make a long story short, the years directly following the accident were sheer
metaphorical hell and the worst years of Fridas life.
20

One of the highlights of Fridas recuperation was attending salons and events that were
held by Tina Modotti, an Italian photographer who came to Mexico with her husband. She also

14
Ibid.
15
Ibid., 26.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid., 27.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid., 31.
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served as a model for Diego Rivera, who divorced from his wife around this time.
21
Frida looked
up to Modotti who eventually served as her gateway into the Communist Party, which Diego was
a part of as well. Eventually, the two rekindled their relationship as Diego remembered the
mischievous girl that had played tricks on him and his former wife at the school. They were
married in August of 1929.
22
Frida referred to her relationship with Diego as her second
accident, as if her affection for him was unintended, but indeed, their relationship was very
tumultuous.
23
Still, Fridas marriage to the much older and monstrously ugly Diego had its
benefits as he helped her family out of debt and also gave Frida many opportunities to join
artists circles and drew more attention to her own artistic talents because of his great fame.
24

The two travelled to many different places all over Mexico and the United States to different
showings of Diegos art as Frida worked on her own skills, drawing and painting the different
people that she met, as well as herself and her friends.
25
They only returned to Mexico for the
funeral of Fridas mother and then traveled back to Detroit, and then New York, but Frida
yearned for nothing more than to return home.
26
Eventually they did so, only for Fridas life to
fall apart once more.
Her beloved Diego began an affair with Fridas sister, Cristina, in 1934, which, although
Frida knew he was a flirt and enjoyed the company of other women, broke her spirit and heart
completely and caused her to live alone, feeling abandoned.
27
However, after some time, she
found it in her heart to forgive both Diego and her sister and returned to living with him under
the promise that they could both have affairs as long as they did not love their other companions

21
Ibid.
22
Ibid., 34.
23
Ibid., 37.
24
Ibid., 40.
25
Ibid., 42.
26
Ibid., 46.
27
Ibid., 47.
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more than one another.
28
Frida herself had many trysts with both men and women to help
counteract the pain of knowing that her husband was enjoying himself with other women, but
eventually she grew tired of her escapades. She had relationships with many notable individuals
including Nickolas Murray, a Hungarian photographer, and Leon Trotsky, a Communist leader
that sought asylum in Mexico in Fridas childhood home.
29
Eventually, she traveled to Paris with
Surrealist writer Andr Breton in 1939 and he made her artwork famous throughout the city,
hosting events at salons and even the Louvre purchased one of her pieces, making her more
prominent than her husband at this point for none of his pieces had been purchased.
30
Frida
couldnt have been prouder of herself at this moment, but, sadly, unhappiness visited her once
again when Diego requested a divorce.
31

Once again, Frida was devastated and alone, but it was during this time that she painted
larger and more extravagant paintings that became famous throughout Mexico and the United
States.
32
She also cut her long hair short in an act of defiance toward Diego, who loved her long
elegant braids.
33
However, her health began to worsen and she took up heavy drinking and
smoking to help ease her pain. Also, she and her sister were questioned extensively and intensely
after Trotsky was murdered in 1940 which lead to further health problems for Frida to the point
that Diego immediately became concerned about her and began to care for her once more.
34
The
two remarried in December of 1940. Frida was no longer the young and vivacious woman that he
had fallen in love with. She was independent, and took up residence in her familys old home:
the Blue House that the two eventually made their own.

28
Ibid., 50.
29
Ibid., 53.
30
Ibid., 62.
31
Ibid.
32
Ibid., 64.
33
Ibid.
34
Ibid., 70.
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Frida completely redecorated the house, having it painted in vibrant colors and furnished
with both elegance and charm, and a dose of quirkiness to fit her unique personality. In addition,
there were many different wings that she and Rivera added to the house including a museum, a
large garden, and a pyramid.
35
The two also kept many animals including parrots, monkeys, a
deer, a hairless dog, and an eagle that Frida had so eloquently named Gertrude White Shit.
36

She also began to truly embrace her unique beauty at this stage, emphasizing her strong
eyebrows, moustache, and short hair that she kept upswept on top of her head, along with her
petite shape. Still, she continued to wear long skirts to disguise her leg, the one insecurity that
she carried with her all of her life.
37
She also remained ever-optimistic, in spite of the lot in life
that she had been dealt, and even though the following year her father passed away and her
health continued to decline, she found happiness in her rekindled relationship with Diego, her
beloved toad-frog.
38
Because she could not have a child due to her medical conditions and all
other pregnancies had been terminated either out of fear of being detrimental to her health or
because Diego did not want a child, Frida instead behaved in a maternal manner toward her
husband, whom she spoiled greatly.
39

Frida, when she wasnt caring for Diego, taught at an experimental School of Painting
and Sculpture, teaching in her own home when she became too weak to travel to the school for
classes.
40
In spite of being confined to a wheelchair for the latter part of this, she still taught her
students with the enthusiasm that she was known for. She also hosted many famous visitors in
her home and delighted in having parties, including extravagant Christmas posadas. Although

35
Ibid., 74.
36
Ibid.
37
Ibid., 80.
38
Ibid., 86.
39
Ibid., 91.
40
Ibid., 95.
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her relations with her aunts were tenuous at best, Frida had good relations with her sister who
visited with her two children many times a week.
41
She also continued to paint and kept a writing
and drawing journal, seemingly focusing on self-portraits with different items and animals, her
explanation being that she herself was very alone and that she wanted to emphasize this with
her painting.
42
Along with many self-portraits, Frida painted still lifes of plants and fruits that
were presented in a seemingly sexually symbolic manner.
43

In the mid to late 1940s, Fridas health began to decline yet again and she underwent
many different surgeries, some of which caused her mental health issues to develop as well as
she began to exhibit mood swings and bouts of aggression.
44
Through all of her pain and
suffering, Diego was there to entertain her and keep her spirits high. He worked extensively to
try to pay for her costly medical bills and would often entertain her by her beside by singing and
dancing.
45
When Frida could return home from the hospital, the two had large parties celebrating
their anniversary and Frida herself held salon gatherings in her own bedroom.
46
Frida even
managed to attend an exhibition opening and greeted visitors from her extravagant bed that had
been brought with her for the purpose of the event.
47
Shortly thereafter, her right leg had to be
amputated due to the threat of gangrene, and in spite of the seriousness of the affliction, she
made jokes about it, along with a very poignant statement: Feet, why do I want them if I have
wings to fly?
48
Her health slowly declined until, in 1954, Frida died of what was considered to
be a pulmonary embolism, but it is also speculated that it could have been a suicide, alcohol

41
Ibid., 100.
42
Ibid.
43
Ibid.
44
Ibid., 118.
45
Ibid.
46
Ibid., 122.
47
Ibid., 126.
48
Ibid.
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poisoning, or an accidental overdose.
49
Her body was decorated in the fine jewelry and lavish
clothing that she was noted for throughout her life and a red Communist flag was placed upon
her coffin by Diego, who refused to remove it when asked. Frida was cremated according to her
wishes for because she had spent so much of her life lying down, she did not wish to be buried
so.
50
Eventually, the Blue House was opened as a museum and Fridas ashes came to rest in an
ancient urn within the home, surrounded by her art, pieces of her clothing, and other pieces of
her life.
51
However, it was said that although Frida passed on, her spirit lived on through her art,
through the Blue House, and through the joy and inspiration that she gave her family, her loved
ones, and her students.
After studying Kahlos life story, her artwork will make more sense and make her
viewpoints presented in her pieces, her style, and her journal more clear in the sense of context.
Frida was a woman who suffered greatly during her short life, but she was not a gloomy woman
who was content to hide in the shadows. She had a very bold and outspoken personality even to
her very last days, and she was also very politically active, especially by Diegos side. There
were many conventions of traditional Mexican womanhood that she defied throughout her life,
from her flirtatious and confident attitude as a young adult, to her continued political activism
and the cutting of her hair, to her favoring the indigenous style of dress. She also embraced her
unique beauty and appearance rather than altering it and remained as active in the culture of the
time as she was physically able. Frida was but one of many women that supported the
Communist Party, leftist thought, and Indigenismo, but she supported the causes that she
believed in with such passion that she can almost symbolize the movements as an individual. In

49
Ibid., 130.
50
Ibid., 133.
51
Ibid., 135.
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the large category of women that lived during the Revolution and its aftermath, Frida fits in the
category of the leftist, forward-thinking feminist. As passionate as Frida was about politics she
saved some of that passion for Diego, her toad-frog that she loved with all of her heart and
soul in spite of all that he put her through during her life. She also dumped quite a lot of it into
her artwork, which, although it fits a surrealist dreamlike style, Frida was quoted as saying that
her art represented her own reality in all of its ups and downs, in its beauty and torment.
The Paintings
The clearest way that one can extract the political and ideological views of Frida Kahlo is
through a study of her very unique artwork. Many of her pieces are very personal, depicting her
struggle with illness and eventually, her hindering disabilities. However, there are some very
politically-charged pieces of art that she created. Frida is mostly known for her unique and
interesting self-portraits, painted at all stages of her life and depicting different aspects of who
she was and how she felt. Her Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair,(fig. 1), painted in 1940 during
her separation from Diego Rivera shows the aftermath of her cutting off the long hair that Diego
loved so much. It is here that Frida openly defies societys standards and her own standards of
beauty by wearing her hair very short and also donning a mans suit.
52
The text above reads,
Look, if I used to love you, it was because of your hair, now that youre pelona, I dont love you
anymore.
53
Although she was highly distressed at the time, drinking heavily and missing her
beloved Diego, it is almost like she was trying to gain her strength back through this painting as
a sort of healing. It also, because it presents Kahlo as a strong figure in control of her own
destiny, represents her inner strength, the light that kept her going in dark times. Still, one cannot

52
Kahlo, Frida Self Portrait with Cropped Hair, 1940.
53
Ibid.
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help but point out how politically charged this image is because of her bold appearance in spite
of societal norms.
Later, when Frida resumed her relationship with Rivera, many of Fridas self-portraits
instead evoked a different part of her ideals, the respect for the indigenous routes of her culture
and support for the struggle for indigenous rights. One of these portraits is Thinking of Death,
(fig. 2), painted in 1943, a clear example of a running motif in these sorts of paintings. Frida is
presented on a background of leaves and is wearing a very traditional garment with her hair
pinned up.
54
In the middle of her forehead is a skull and bones: Death, which is quite literally
represented on her mind. Her attire, however, is only one part of the formula that Frida followed
when painting herself. Rather than representing herself as a paler, more idealized beauty, she
actually emphasized her physical flaws in her work, believing that they made her beautiful and
unique, as previously stated. Omnipresent in all of these portraits is her strong unibrow, made
stronger than in reality in her paintings, but also, upper lip hair, and tanned skin. Although Frida
was far from the ideal woman in Mexico at the time, she embraced and flaunted her unique
beauty in her paintings. In another work of hers, Self-Portrait dedicated to Marte R. Gmez, (fig.
3), Frida takes her vision of herself one step further, as the unibrow is presented in the shape of a
bird in flight.
55
The flying bird meant a lot to Frida as a symbol, because it represented the ability
for her heart to soar while her body could not and gave her strength when one of her feet had to
be amputated, but birds are also very important in Mexican indigenous culture as either deities or
symbols. Another very strong variation on the self-portraits that Frida painted is Self-Portrait
with Unbound Hair,(fig. 4), a very powerful piece in spite of its outward simplicity. Frida
presented herself in her most natural form, with her hair draped around her shoulders, a world-

54
Kahlo, Frida Thinking of Death, 1943.
55
Kahlo, Frida Self-Portrait Dedicated to Marte R. Gmez, 1946.
14

weary look in her eyes and more emphasis on her facial hair than before. Again she is wearing a
traditional garment with patterns upon it and that combined with her wild hair makes her look
even more like the people whose culture she chose to emulate through her dress.
56
Perhaps this
was the intention, or perhaps it was her intention as her life drew to a close, to paint herself in as
bare bones a manner as possible.
There are many other paintings that feature Frida herself in them in some way or another
or depict some point in her life. The most notable of these is The Two Fridas,(fig. 5), painted in
1939 during her separation from Diego. In this case, the observer is not looking at Frida herself,
but rather two sides of her soul; the beloved Frida on the right with a healthy heart and holding
a portrait of her fickle partner, and the unloved Frida on the left, severing her veins and with an
aching diseased heart.
57
Although this is a study of one of the saddest times in her life, it is still
yet another piece that evokes her feelings about Indigenismo. The healthy, loved Frida is wearing
traditional Mexican attire, similar to what Frida would have worn in everyday life.
58
However,
the dying Frida wears a Western-style garment that appears Victorian in design. This is likely
intentional because, although she was half-European herself, Frida felt more strongly connected
to her Mexican roots, and so having her suffering side in such attire would certainly be a strong
political point against the modernization of Mexico that was going on during the time.
59
It also
could mean that by leaving Mexico and being severed from the roots that she cherished so much,
Frida is dying on the inside. Another, earlier painting entitled Self-Portrait on the Borderline
between Mexico and the United States,(fig. 6), painted in 1932 when Frida was travelling across
the United States with Diego to many art gallery openings, mural paintings, and other events also

56
Kahlo, Frida Self-Portrait with Unbound Hair, 1947.
57
Kahlo, Frida The Two Fridas, 1939.
58
Ibid.
59
Ibid.
15

captures Fridas feelings about Mexico apart from the rest of the industrialized world. In the
painting, the right side represents the United States, heavily modernized and with cookie-cutter
skyscrapers with devices growing out of the ground with electrical cords that are tangled
together.
60
In contrast, the side that represents Mexico features a massive Aztec temple, plants
growing out of the ground, skulls, and ancient fertility figures.
61
It also highly features the cycle
of life and death, which is highly important to indigenous cultures, whereas the American side is
completely lifeless, but also completely deathless, being mechanized and unnatural. Frida stands
between the two, clad in a fancy dress. However, she holds a cigarette in her hand, showing her
rebellious nature as it was considered unladylike for women to smoke, let alone smoke at a
special occasion like she is dressed for.
62
Both of these paintings have a similar theme in that
they both strongly show support for native Mexican traditions and culture while speaking
strongly out against capitalism, industrialization, and everything else that the western world
stood for. Another piece of Fridas work that was even more strongly stated in its message of
anti-modernism is My Dress Hangs There, (fig. 7). Painted one year after Self-Portrait on the
Borderline between Mexico and the United States, during the same period of travel, this is the
only collage painting that Frida produced.
63
Again present is the tumultuous atmosphere of
America with many machines, smoke stacks, large buildings, and billboards, but Frida herself is
missing from the painting, making it very unique. Her absence, however can be considered to
mean that while her traditional dress may hang in the city, the true Frida is at home in Mexico.
Frida also painted a work that directly showcased her feelings about the social aspects of
Mexican Revolution and later struggles. Entitled Four Inhabitants of Mexico City, (fig. 8), and

60
Kahlo, Frida Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States, 1932.
61
Ibid.
62
Ibid.
63
Kahlo, Frida My Dress Hangs There, 1933.
16

painted in 1938, it depicts a young girl in indigenous attire, a Judas figure, a pre-Columbian
fertility figure, a skeleton, and a straw man in the background.
64
They are all standing in a square
in Mexico City which Frida claimed is otherwise empty because of too much revolution.
65
The
straw man and the little girl are in the background, representing the fragility of traditional
Mexican life as it is pushed aside. The pre-Columbian figure is pregnant and still standing behind
the Judas and the skeleton, indicating either the pushing aside of ancient traditions, or the false
appreciation for indigenous culture that was exhibited by many leaders while leaving behind the
actual Indians to suffer.
66
Meanwhile the Judas represents the twisted nature of the modern
Mexican culture and the skeleton represents death, likely referring to the death of the old culture.
Frida not only was involved with the political , as seen in one of her last paintings,
Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick, (fig. 9), painted in 1954. Like Self-Portrait on the
Borderline between Mexico and the United States, the background of this painting is split in two,
with one side representing the chaotic non-Marxist world as it awaits destruction, and the other
side represents Marxs vision of utopia with the philosopher himself featured as a levitating
face.
67
Frida stands in the center being cured by Marxs magic hands, one of which is adorned
with an all-seeing eye.
68
This painting firmly cements Fridas political views even up until her
death. She felt as if the Communist Party, born of Marxs ideas could lead Mexico to a rebirth
and heal its wounds that were opened by the Revolution and many years of misrule. This
painting is also significant in that it was one of the last paintings Frida ever worked on and
remained unfinished when she died. Perhaps she had meant it as a final message of her feelings

64
Kahlo, Frida Four Inhabitants of Mexico City, 1938.
65
Ibid.
66
Ibid.
67
Kahlo, Frida Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick, 1954.
68
Ibid.
17

and a projection of the social changed that she hoped would eventually come to be a reality in
Mexico.
Overall, Fridas artwork displays her skepticism about modernization and her strong ties
to her Mexican roots. It also displays her pride in herself even in the saddest and most trying
moments of her life, her mixed feeling about the Revolution, and her yearning for social change.
They do an excellent job of expressing the authors viewpoint as well as her unique ideologies
that fueled her life and her work. Frida, as she stated, painted her reality with all of its suffering
and turmoil, but also with its bright spots of hope and joy. She depicted not only her own
miniature protests in her artwork by showing herself defying the standards of beauty and
femininity and wearing indigenous attire, but she also depicted her opinions on large scale
struggles such as the Mexican Revolution and the social struggle to instill more Marxist
ideologies in Mexico. But was Frida herself as she depicted herself in her artwork? How did she
present herself in reality?
The Photographs
Frida herself was also featured in many different sorts of photographs throughout her life,
from family pictures, to professional color images, to tabloid style photographs. Each of these
show the artist as she really was and in many of them, she chose to make a statement with her
attire, a trait that transcends her large body of work. These photographs can give glimpses into
her life and provide more background for her life as well as her viewpoints on politics,
indigenous rights and social issues.
One of the most famous photographs of Frida with her family was taken by her father
Guillermo in 1924, (fig. 10). This was taken during the time when Frida was going to the
18

preparatory school as a teenager. Out of her entire family, dressed in very conventional styles for
the time, Frida is absolutely the strongest figure in the photograph. She is dressed in a mans suit
and tie with her hair pulled harshly back to make it appear short and cropped close to her head.
69

She strikes a very informal pose, one hand in her pocket and the other on a family members
shoulder. This is oddly similar to her later painting Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, and it
evokes the same message: that Frida was deliberately speaking out against societal norms by
dressing in a masculine manner, while also coming across as confident and powerful in her own
right. It also ties her to the workers movement through more masculine professional attire as
well as the trendy and forward thinking las pelonas, women who cut their hair short and wore
modern fashions while speaking out against the patriarchal government of Mexico. This is but
one of many photographs of Frida amongst family members that are socially charged. For a
contrast, there is a 1950 photograph of Frida, her sister Cristina and Aurora Reyes, (fig. 11). Still,
even nearly thirty years later, Frida is the most striking part of this photograph. She is seated in
her wheelchair, bundled in traditional clothing, and wrapped in a shawl with a floral headpiece.
Her companion Reyes also wears traditional attire, but it is not nearly as extravagant as Fridas.
Meanwhile, her sister is much more reserved and modern in her style of clothing.
As Frida was notable for her self-portraits, she was also notable for the solo photographs
taken of her both professional and non-professional in nature. Perhaps the most famous
photograph of Frida in existence is the one taken by Nickolas Murray in 1939, (fig.12). Frida
stands alone against a gray background that contrasts starkly with her colorful outfit, making her
stand out even more. Her clothing is in the indigenous style, with a bright fuchsia shawl draped

69
Kahlo, Guillermo Family Photograph, 1924.
19

over her shoulders, a simple loose white blouse, and a lavender skirt.
70
Her hair is tied up in a
scarf of a deeper shade of purple and she wears a gold necklace, earrings, and rings. As in her
paintings, Frida herself does not follow traditional beauty conventions, with her unibrow and
facial hair prominent in the portrait, but neither of these detract from her overall beauty.
Although this is the most famous photograph of her in indigenous attire, it is far from the
only one featuring her wearing such clothing. In another photograph also by Nickolas Murray,
she wears a black shawl accented by a red and gold shirt and a patterned red skirt, (fig. 13). In
her carefully arranged hairstyle are pink roses, and she wears a very bold necklace to complete
the unique look. However, what is the most interesting thing about this photograph as compared
to Murrays other work is the background that Frida is seated in front of. It is a pale green and
decorated with white flowers in a very European style. This is in very stark contrast to Frida who
is dressed in very warm shades and seems to be popping forth from the dull background. This
was perhaps done to emphasize her unique style of dress and draw more attention to its
intricacies versus the drab background.
Even black and white photographs of Frida are visually moving and unique pieces. A
photograph by Juan Guzmn features her with two birds standing in the Blue House, (fig. 14).
Frida wears a vibrantly patterned traditional dress and long shawl and a very large necklace. She
cradles the birds in her hands as if they were children, tenderly looking over them. This is
perhaps the most moving solo photograph of Frida ever produced as it shows her in her own
world that she constructed for herself, caring for the animals that were her only company during
some of the darker times of her life. Another powerful black and white photo of Frida was taken
by Antonio Kahlo, (fig. 15). Although leaning against a wall and holding a cane, Frida is still

70
Murray, Nickolas Photograph of Frida Kahlo, 1939.
20

wearing her trademark traditional clothing, loud jewelry and appears to be standing proud in the
face of all the struggles that she was going through. Even toward the end of her life, she managed
to evoke a strong presence with her body language and expressions.
There are also some unprofessional photographs of Frida that can give more insight as to
what she was really like rather than posing her in front of a camera. There are a couple of
photographs of her at demonstrations, either alone or with Diego, enforcing that she was really
attempting to be as active in politics and social issues as she could. In 1929 she was
photographed at a demonstration for the Syndicate of Technical Workers, Painters, and
Sculptors, (fig. 16). Frida walks alongside her new husband, Diego in a line of protesters. She is
dressed in a surprisingly modern womens dress that even exposes her mismatched legs that she
felt self-conscious about for much of her life. It is likely that she dressed professionally rather
than traditionally at this protest because all of the men including her husband did. Frida likely
didnt want to seem like an accessory to her husband, but rather as an individual who felt the
same way as her husband and the other protesters. Interestingly enough, the last public
appearance that Frida made before her death was also at a public demonstration, this time
protesting the involvement of the American C.I.A. in Guatemala, (fig. 17). Frida is seated in her
wheelchair and holding a sign with a dove of peace upon it while Diego stands behind her, a
hand upon her shoulder. Even while she was in pain and dealing with the greatest suffering of
her life, Frida still made the effort to show up to this event, which says something about her
strong political opinions and tenacity.
Until the end of her tragic life, Frida attempted to make changes in society that she
believed in or at least represent the changes that she wished to see with her artwork. She indeed
painted her reality as the Frida in the paintings looks and carries herself exactly as the Frida in
21

the photographs. She tried to be as active in life as she was in her own second reality of painting,
and her physical state mirrored her psychological state as presented in her paintings. Frida wasnt
simply a passive painter, she was an active painter, observing the world around her, participating
to the best of her physical ability in movements that she believed in, and painting not only her
reactions to what was going on in Mexico at the time, but also painting the hopes that she had for
her country as it struggled to climb to its feet and join the modern world.
The Diary
It was previously stated during the biographical segment of this work that Frida kept a
journal of her thoughts as well as of drawings and ideas for the last decade of her life. Analysis
of this diarys contents is the final step to understanding and presenting her unique viewpoints as
they are not the thoughts of others interpreting Fridas work, but Fridas unabridged thoughts.
Although the Mexican Revolution had ended before Frida wrote this journal, the social struggle
in Mexico continued and more political issues began to arise as United States involvement in
other countries began to become an issue in Latin America. Perhaps something more can be
learned about Fridas social and political views through a thorough study of the journal.
Unlike Fridas paintings, the diary is very spontaneous and comes directly from her mind,
making it more of a direct link to the artist. It is also mostly non-chronological, with actual dated
pages showing up only sporadically. This is also where Fridas dualistic nature most clearly
shows up. She was sorrowful and suffering, yes, but she also possessed a sense of humor and a
strong optimistic spirit, often poking fun at herself. The first part of the journal is composed of
poetry and letters with vague working that on the surface seems like gibberish, but when one
22

looks deeper into the words, one is taken into Fridas mind. She writes in a very strong stream-
of-consciousness style at the start:
Bee- fondness- perfume- cord- crumb- fools gold- jumping voyeur- soldier
ease- solstice strip. Purple quadrant- open gown. Microned. Matter. Martyrdom.
Quince. Grapeshot. Micron. Branches, ease, bitterly went into the faraway eyes,
Ursas majors. Voicehushed. Life. Flower.
71

Although these words may seem like nonsense, it is Fridas way to get her ideas and
feelings down on paper so that she can start a painting. She continues this in many other
segments, relating colors to ideas in another, such as brown being related to mole sauce, a
traditional Mexican sauce made with bitter chocolate and spices, and magenta reminding her of
both the interior of the prickly pear fruit and of Aztec gods and sacrifice.
72
In another segment
she lists all of the words that relate to the letter a and colors it strongly yellow, amarillo, the
color that Frida most relates to a feeling of insanity.
73

As stated, Frida also drew in her book and planned paintings. These would range from
the very deep anthropomorphic vase drawings that express Fridas inner monologue and turmoil
of love and hate with Diego, to the drawing of an Eyesaurus that Frida proclaimed once ruled
the earth.
74
She also draws her little dog as an ambassador of his kind, titling him The Lord
Xolotl, Ambassador of the Universal Republic of Xibalba which ties him to Aztec mythology

71
Kahlo, Frida (Carlos Fuentes, Sarah M. Lowe, and Phyllis Freeman, transl). The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate
Self-Portrait.
, 204.
72
Ibid., 211.
73
Ibid., 219.
74
Ibid., 237, 253.
23

oddly enough.
75
Still, it is with a sense of humor that she does it, asking the cute drawing How
do you do, Mr. Xolotl? It is hard to believe that the same woman that proclaims her dog to be a
Lord and draws an Eyesaurus could draw the incredibly moving piece depicting her broken,
diseased, amputated foot and her healthy foot with vines leaving its trunk, (fig. 18).
76
It draws
from the Mexican tradition of milagros, miracles, that were silver replicas of afflicted body
parts left near a shrine to a saint to hopefully speed the recovery of the afflicted part.
77
The text
below the drawing reads Feet. What do I need them for if I have wings to fly. one of Fridas
most famous quotes and the pinnacle of her inner strength.
78

Among the long lines of text that plan paintings, the sometimes cheerful and sometimes
tragic drawings, and the many passionate love letters to Diego, there were also several political
statements:
Stalin (1953) Malenkov has gone 4 March. Astonishing. The revolutionary
world which is mine. Long live Stalin. Long Live Malenkov.
79

The most prominent socio-political entry however, is the five page long entry that Frida
made on November fourth of 1952. Frida lamented that she has been not quite as useful as she
wanted to be to her beloved Communist Party due to her illness, many surgeries, and the
emotional turmoil that was her relationship with Diego.
80
She stated that because her health
improved because of her recent surgeries, she would be able to help her Party to try to gain
power and change the world for the better and refers to her painting as her contribution to the

75
Ibid., 268.
76
Ibid., 274.
77
Ibid.
78
Ibid.
79
Ibid., 229.
80
Ibid., 255.
24

party, using it to help spread the message. She sympathized deeply with the plight of the
indigenous Mexicans and blacks, stating that capitalist countries continue to subjugate them and
naming the United States and England as the most common oppressors of these people.
81
Frida
also stated that the world was suffering and losing its balance because of capitalism and
corruption. Finally, in the last page of this entry, she lamented the passing of Stalin and stated
that she had always wanted to meet him.
82
A few pages later she continued her communist fervor
with a couple of illustrations that are paired on opposite pages, (figs. 19 and 20). On one side
there is the hammer and sickle with the names of the people that she considers to be her political
heroes; Marx, Lenin, Engels, Stalin, and Mao.
83
On the other side there is a drawing of a woman
in traditional Mexican garb, most likely Frida herself, with an Aztec pyramid and the rising sun
in the background.
84
These two images are being juxtaposed and compared because as great as
the Communist leaders were to Frida, the ancient cultures of Mexico were just as important in
her life.
In another entry, Frida recorded a visitation from Polish-born American photographer
Bernice Kolko as she visited Mexico. In the short entry, Frida praised Kolkos abilities as a
photographer, stating that she photographs reality admirably and classifying her as a great
artist.
85
However, Frida questioned Kolkos statement that she was for peace because Kolko was
not a Communist. She pondered Kolkos status as a Jewish individual and wondered about the
validity of her claims because of her political affiliations.
86
This shows that Frida was not only
extremely devoted to her party, but also questioned the motives of those that were not involved

81
Ibid., 257.
82
Ibid., 258.
83
Ibid., 261.
84
Ibid.
85
Ibid., 268.
86
Ibid.
25

in the furthering of Communism and Marxism but still wished for peace, showing that Frida felt
that peace could only be attained through the furthering of Communist and Marxist ideas.
The last highly politicized entry in Fridas diary is the six page account that she offers of
her experience as a young girl during the Mexican Revolution. She was only four years of age
when the conflict reached her familys home in the form of Carranzas group and the Zapatistas
fighting as Carranza attempted to eliminate his competitors in his quest for power in Mexico.
Her mother took in many wounded and hungry people and took care of their wounds.
87
The
house was nearly hit by bullets many times and eventually, Fridas mother allowed for the
Zapatistas to move over the balconies of the house, giving them a safe route to escape and attack
the Carrancistas. She and her younger sister Cristina in the meantime would buy songs from the
Posada that praised Zapata and sing them in a large wardrobe in their home, hidden away from
the conflict outside.
88
Frida praised her mother and father for protecting her and Cristina from the
guerilla war outside and eventually cites her experience during the Mexican Revolution as being
the turning point that drew her into Communism and lead her to join the Communist youth at the
young age of thirteen.
89
This segment provides both background and reasoning behind why Frida
became such a militant supporter of political and social change in her adult life. As a child she
was exposed to the horrors of the Mexican Revolution and she saw what the government was
doing to ordinary people that took up arms in defense. This also lead to her opinions of the
Revolution; that it had been a step in the right direction for the rights of individuals, but it had
taken away such life that there were no people to preserve rights for.

87
Ibid., 282.
88
Ibid., 283.
89
Ibid., 282.
26

Fridas diary is not only a rich source of her socio-political opinions, but it is also the
closest link to the artist herself that exists. It shows her mindset and her personality more than
any painting or photograph could. Frida was not just a supporter of indigenous rights, nor was
she just a Communist, a wife, a lover, nor simply an outlet for pain and joy. She was a very
complex individual who reacted to the turmoil in the world around her as well as the turmoil in
her own life in a very unique way. Her viewpoint was shaped not only by her experience during
the Revolution as a young girl, but by her time spent at the preparatory school, her accident, her
on again off again romance with Diego, and eventually her slowly declining health as she
eventually began to wither and die. Even in the face of death itself, Frida was outspoken and
defiant, but still she had time to enjoy herself and her sense of humor clearly shines through in
the diary. How exactly does Fridas unique experience relate back to Revolutionary and Post-
Revolutionary Mexico? How is her experience able to shed light upon the struggle for Mexicos
modernization? What of the struggle for indigenous rights and womens rights? What of
Communism and the social revolution?
The Revolution
In order to understand Kahlos viewpoint and reaction to the events that unfolded during
her lifetime, one must first understand the events of the Mexican Revolution and its aftermath,
and, more importantly, the role that women commonly played in it. As previously stated, the
Revolution began as a reaction to the corruption of Porfirio Daz and his regime. However, there
was unrest before he came to power as well. Following independence from Spain, the mid to late
1800s and the early 1900s prior to Dazs rule were full of anarchy and conflict, with liberal
27

groups fighting against the church and indigenous people fighting against white landowners.
90

This conflict was only the beginning of a longstanding tradition of unrest and turmoil.
When Daz took control of the Mexican government in 1876, his main goal was to
modernize and industrialize Mexico in order to develop the economy and to have the country on
equal footing with the rest of the world. For Daz, political stability depended on financial
stability, and he and his supporters felt as if things would fall into place once Mexicos economy
had grown in size and influence.
91
The problem with this plan, however, was how he went about
increasing economic growth. The lower rungs of Mexican society, including most of the native
population, were forced into harsh labor on haciendas or in mines, suffering in poverty and
receiving little payment for their work.
92
In some cases, slavery was even allowed, in spite of
being abolished by law many years ago.
93
Native people were kidnapped from their homes and
sold into slave labor for relatively low prices to provide unpaid labor on haciendas, collectives
that already existed on very cheap labor from poor farmers. Other slaves were forced into the
mines where many of them died along with the poor and miserable lower classes. Life was
wonderful for the emerging middle class and the aristocrats of Mexico City that reaped the
benefits of the hard labor of those below them without having to work intensely for what they
had earned. Daz boasted of improvement in Mexico, claiming that it was well on its way to
modernization and would enter the modern world as a serious power in time. However,
discontent began to grow among the poor and the word revolution began to be whispered in
the poorer villages and haciendas.

90
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico 1910-1982: Reform or Revolution?, (London: Zed Press, 1983), 7.
91
Calavert, Peter The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1914: The Diplomacy of Anglo-American Conflict, (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1968), 17.
92
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico 1910-1982: Reform or Revolution?, (London: Zed Press, 1983), 8.
93
Ibid.
28

The turning point that sparked the Revolution arrived in many different forms. One of the
many causes was a strong economic downturn as Mexicos export goods of silver and other
metals lost value, reaching a critical point in 1905.
94
The value of gold also began to drop at this
point as did the value and desirability of cash crops like sugar. These concerns not only caused
economic issues, but, because Mexico imported food for its people in order to export most of the
cash crops that were grown on haciendas for profit, many people grew hungry and several died
of starvation. However, Dazs fate was sealed when he attempted to place the race murderer
and generally disliked individual, Ramon Corral, in the position of Vice President rather than one
of the many candidates that the people of Mexico tried to back.
95
He also imprisoned a
presidential rival, one that would have won the election against him if he werent thrown in jail
on flimsy charges, on the day of the election and re-elected himself to the position of President
instead, claiming to have won by a landslide. At that point, the many different factions of
revolutionaries following different leaders such as Pancho Villa and Emilio Zapata began to
attack the upper class, starting with haciendas in the north and the south. Eventually, the
Revolution began to snowball out of control and the Zapatistas along with Villa supporters and
other groups began to attack larger and more strategic targets, drawing closer and closer to
Mexico City and creating unease for Daz and his allies. The Revolution had been sparked and
there was no stopping it at this point.
Daz eventually fled to France to avoid the conflict, leaving Francisco Madero, a
reformist, in charge.
96
Madero was in no way able to hold back the Revolution or prevent it
from escalating and was merely placed into power to serve as a sacrifice to the enraged rioters

94
Ibid., 10.
95
Ibid.
96
Ibid., 12.
29

and rebels. To add pressure to the situation, rumor and controversy spread, and the United States
began to consider acting in support of the Mexican government as discontent grew.
97
An
ambassador stated that, while Madero became president, he was no Daz and expressed doubt
in his abilities to exercise power and put Mexico back on track toward economic growth, in spite
of his continued support of the economic relationship between Mexico and the United States.
98

Madero even called for the institution of a democracy similar to the United States during a time
when such a government likely would not benefit Mexico at all. As a banker and privileged
landowner, he was out of touch with what the common people needed an were demanding of
him.
99

Shortly after he was put into power, Madero was assassinated by supporters of General
Victoriano Huerta, or perhaps by Huerta himself. Placed in control as a temporary president,
Huerta tried to fill Dazs shoes and pick up where he left off, instituting death squads and other
groups that would fight back against the uprising peasants and their allies in violent and horrific
ways. He promised economic growth and progress that Daz had kicked off in hope to gain
support against the few supporters that he had left. At that point rebel groups were tired of the
dictatorship that had been established along with the injustices forced against them. Venustiano
Carranza, leader of a group of elites and governor of Coahuila officially declared revolution,
sending his troops into battle while the lower class guerillas launched their covert attacks against
Huertas forces.
100
Zapata and his group, along with others formed dangerous and large guerrilla

97
Calavert, Peter The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1914: The Diplomacy of Anglo-American Conflict, (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1968),71.
98
Ibid., 85.
99
Hart, John Mason, Revolutionary Mexico: The Coming and Processes of the Mexican Revolution, (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1987) ,255.
100
Ibid., 262.
30

groups not only from dedicated fighters but also from peasants whose homes were destroyed by
Huertas ruthless generals.
101

Although Huerta launched devastating campaigns against both the Zapatistas and
Carrancistas, including scorched earth tactics and garnering the support of both the United States
and the wealthy elite, he was no match for his opponents.
102
Huerta and his men were ousted in
1914 and Carranza, having a mind for sociopolitical reform, attempted to obtain the presidential
office. He was countered by the more radical Villa and Zapata in a conflict that would eventually
turn into all-out war as Carranza launched attacks against Villa as well as the Zapatistas.
103

While Carranzas government favored the elites, Villa and Zapata wished for land to be broken
up and redistributed amongst the working-class and peasant populations.
104
While the Villistas
added small villages to their already powerful forces and the Zapatistas plotted guerilla attacks,
Carranza conspired and worked with the United States, whose weapons and strategies would turn
the fighting in his favor.
105
Villa eventually laid down his arms in 1920 and Zapata was killed by
supporters of Carranza in an organized plot, leaving the government seat opened to Carranza.
Still, in spite of the violence shown toward his former allies and brothers-in-arms,
Carranza and his administration developed the 1917 Constitution, which tried to appeal to
farmers and other lower class individuals by dissolving haciendas, providing workers
compensation, and outlawing child labor.
106
It also contained increased state and government
rights, including granting the ability to step into conflicts between peasants, workers, or

101
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico 1910-1982: Reform or Revolution?, (London: Zed Press, 1983), 18.
102
Hart, John Mason, Revolutionary Mexico: The Coming and Processes of the Mexican Revolution, (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1987) 265
103
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico 1910-1982: Reform or Revolution?, (London: Zed Press, 1983), 23.
104
Hart, John Mason, Revolutionary Mexico: The Coming and Processes of the Mexican Revolution, (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1987) 277.
105
Ibid., 280.
106
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico 1910-1982: Reform or Revolution?, (London: Zed Press, 1983), 25.
31

employees.
107
Carranza decided that he would sign the Constitution, but not enforce it, sealing
his eventual fate. Many peasants still suffered from starvation, along with the harsh casualties
that had been inflicted upon them throughout the Revolution.
Carranza tried to install a puppet that he could easily control following the end of his
term rather than allowing for a democratic election, apparently throwing away his former beliefs.
Once again, the people revolted, backing the one remaining member of the original
revolutionaries: Alvaro Obregn, a populist who seemed to hold promise to become a fairer
leader that would actually address the needs of the people.
108
While Carranza was killed trying to
escape with government money, Obregn took the presidency and finally brought peace to the
long-suffering Mexico for a time. But just how successful was the Revolution? Would the people
be satisfied with Obregns decisions? What would his successors do and would they be
successful in their ventures to make Mexico a stable and peaceful country?
The Aftermath
Following the politically-charged Mexican Revolution was a revolution of a different
color: a social revolution. For all the good that it did, the Revolution did not aid the lower classes
that were continuing to suffer not only from poverty but from the massive casualties that were
inflicted by the Revolution and still had no governmental representation for the most part.
109

There was no democracy either, but there was finally stability, something that Mexico had not
seen for an entire decade and more. There were still three problems that Obregn and his
successors faced: the corrupted military, the disobedient church, and the power-hungry
aristocracy. The military had inflicted most of the casualties on the peasant population and was

107
Ibid.
108
Ibid., 26.
109
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico: The End of the Revolution, (London: Praeger, 2002).
32

prone to utterly insane outbreaks of violence. The Catholic Church refused to adhere to the
possible separation of church and state and continued to condemn people for their rebelliousness
and progressivism.
110
Finally, the aristocracy refused to let go of its power and allow for more
equal distribution of control in government.
Eventually, through the terms of Obregn, the capitalist-leaning Plutarco Calles, and the
highly revolutionary and Socialist Lzaro Crdenas, all of these problems were dealt with and
Mexico was ready to begin advancing once more. Industrialization picked up again along with
modernization as schools, factories, and other important components and buildings of a
modern society were built and perspective. The Catholic Church eventually faded into the
background in 1930 with the end of the Cristero War between the state and the church.
Previously broken and burned political and social bridges were also repaired with the peasant
communities, and, several times did these new populist leaders rely on the peasant population to
quell military uprisings and come to their aid.
111
Things appeared to be looking up for Mexico
under the new progressive leadership. However, Obregn was eventually assassinated by a
radical and turmoil began to emerge once more.
Peasant uprisings began to take place as Calles began to edge toward a capitalist state,
agrarian reform being slowed down to a crawl in favor of industrialization and the development
of a strong economy. Along with this issue, economic crises broke out in the form of Mexican
exports losing value even more, some areas going bankrupt because of this and starvation
became common once again.
112
The poor that did not starve had to rely on cheap imported junk
food of poor quality, leading to very meager diet. However, Crdenas struggled to do what he

110
Ibid., 46.
111
Ibid., 61.
112
Ibid., 71.
33

could, worried about the state of industrial workers and other miserable and starving poor. He
formed several workers unions and backed several organizations including the Miners Union,
the Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers, and others.
113
Sadly, Crdenass plan to form a
democracy backfired and an oligarchy took over, with many unions refusing to support their
workers. Still, economic issues receded away, and although Crdenas wished to move in an
increasingly egalitarian direction, his plans were cut short as his term ended and he stepped down
from the position of President, remaining in a less powerful government position. What could
have been accomplished had Crdenas remained in power will never be known, but he made
some bold steps in the right direction.
The Presidents that followed Crdenas were less progressive and left-leaning than he
was, but they kept the country on a stable path for some time. Into the 1950s and beyond,
many issues persisted. What about the rights of the indigenous population? What about womens
rights and needs? What about the fact that many poor villages still did not have clean water and
healthy food to eat and had to rely on cheap unhealthy imports? What was to be done about the
native population? There were still many unanswered questions as Mexico marched toward
modernization, questions that would burden the minds and thoughts of many.
Women and the Revolution
At this point, it is important to address the role of women during the Revolution as well
as during the aftermath. By understanding what women disliked about Daz and his cronies,
questioned or supported about revolutionaries and asked of Presidents that followed the
Revolution, Frida Kahlos own experience can have a framework, a setting, and her ideas can

113
Ibid., 79.
34

have a gendered context. If one can understand what troubled women, what pleased them, and
what they wished for during and after the Revolution, Fridas paintings and her own experience
can be more easily understood.
Women, before the revolution, had been confined inside the home by laws supported by
the omnipresent Catholic Church that only allowed them to publicly participate in only the Holy
zone, which only included Mass and confessionals outside the home, whereas in the home
women were expected to do their duty taking care of the household, cooking, and raising
children.
114
However, this does not mean that feminism did not exist before the Mexican
Revolution. The first feminist group was formed in 1904 known as the Society for the Protection
of Women.
115
This group not only sought to protect women from violence, but also sought to
educate them and keep them updated on current events that they were uninformed of given their
place in the home. Women also did not request rights during this period, as they were happy
supporting the men that would eventually lead the revolution, believing in their ideals and
goals.
116
During the Revolution itself, liberal-minded women took up many duties within their
groups, from basic domestic chores such as mending and sewing uniforms and flags, cooking,
and taking care of the sick to spying and even leading troops and commanding operations.
117

Some of the fiercest and most dangerous fighters of the Revolution were women and they were
either condemned by their enemies or commended by their allies for their aggressiveness and
loyalty.

114
Monsivis, Carlos When Gender Cant Be Seen Among the Symbols: Women and the Mexican Revolution, in
Sex in Revolution: Gender, Politics, and Power in Modern Mexico, eds: Jocelyn Olcott, Mary Kay Vaughan, Gabriella
Cano, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006), 2.
115
Ibid., 3.
116
Ibid., 4.
117
Ibid.
35

There were also women that were conservative rather than the liberal fighters of the
Revolution. These women were often middle or upper class and were raised to accept and
appreciate the patriarchys control over them, feeling as if it was protective.
118
These women
were also often highly religious and devoted to the ideas of the Catholic Church, regardless of
the fact that these laws were the ones keeping them cooped up in the home. These women felt as
if a Revolution would destroy Mexican society as it was and many turned even more to the
Church when it became clear that Revolution would indeed break out regardless if they wished
against it or not. It was at this point that these women fully and fanatically dedicated themselves
to religious teachings, using them to steel themselves against the approaching storm of violence
and bloodshed.
119
Some of these women were staunch supporters of the Counter-Revolution,
preaching traditional values to the rebellious wild women of the Revolution.
In the aftermath of the Revolution into 1920, women had a largely mixed experience. The
government wished to celebrate women as well as commemorate them, as evidenced with the
establishment of Mothers Day and the appointment of a few women to ambassadorial positions
and to some courts, particularly juvenile courts. However, women did not gain the right to vote
until the early 1950s.
120
Some of the most prominent progressive women were school teachers
that favored the development of socialist education that was separate from the Church and other
religious contexts, sexual education, and the enriching of the quality of education in rural
areas.
121
Quite a few of these brave teachers sadly were martyrs to their cause as radicals beat,
raped, and murdered them and the Catholic Church openly condemned them. As for feminists,
many supported the Communist Party, but were often not considered to be strong players as

118
Ibid., 12.
119
Ibid., 14.
120
Ibid., 15.
121
Ibid.
36

women that were considered militant were kept out of positions of power in the party.
122
Still,
these women enthusiastically supported their party and made up a sizable part of the partys
body.
What exactly was womens role in the Revolution, though? What exactly did they gain
from the struggle and earn in the aftermath? Up until recently, many historians, artists and
writers pictured women as mere observers to machismo or male valor triumphing.
123
This has
been disproven by the statement that many women were key players in the struggle against Daz
whether they were performing domestic tasks or fighting in the open. Also, women did gain
many new rights as a result of the Revolution. They earned the right to divorce their husbands
and could own and manage property.
124
They also were granted legal protection in terms of labor
rights as well as custody rights of their children, all of which were steps in the right direction for
women as a group. Although the growing presence of women was more and more evident, many
disgruntled male authors and artists painted women into the background or reduced them to
stereotypes.
125
Furthermore, many judges were biased toward men, and more often than not
women who sought divorce were forced to live in shame and suffer.
Women also opposed each other, sometimes hindering themselves as a whole, but other
times helping women overall. The right-wing Catholic women opposed birth control, divorce,
and certain forms of art that depicted nude female brown flesh in film and in painting.
126
They
also opposed many new styles of dress for women and struggled to enforce dying Victorian

122
Ibid., 16.
123
Vaughan, Mary Kay Pancho Villa, the Daughters of Mary, and the Modern Woman: Gender in the Long
Mexican Revolution, in Sex in Revolution: Gender, Politics, and Power in Modern Mexico, eds: Jocelyn Olcott, Mary
Kay Vaughan, Gabriella Cano, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006), 22.
124
Ibid.
125
Ibid., 25.
126
Ibid., 26.
37

values upon young women, trying to claim that the abomination known as the third sex, better
known as the New Woman had no place in Mexico. Feminists on the other hand eagerly
entered the work force in the form of public service, becoming teachers, nurses, social workers,
and athletic directors. Many more also became involved with government, becoming labor
inspectors and organizers for projects.
127
The state was a safe haven for these women to work
away from home for some time until men in the work place began to exercise power to keep
women in the home, and even women in power began championing traditional roles.
128

Organized feminists championed social rights and maternalism, whereas Catholic women
championed civil rights and educational freedoms.
129
However, both of these groups did their
part in fighting against violence toward women, sexual assault, and other injustices that were
being done to their sex.
130
For as much as they fought against one another, these two different
groups of women both worked in their own ways to fight for what they believed in. And
eventually, because of their work, a new wave of women developed that, rather than pleading for
rights specifically, demanded rights for all humans.
131

Whatever their differences, the importance of women together in a group was a form of
solidarity as many unions and groups were developed for working women of all classes. Women
who worked in the government joined support groups of all sorts together and often worked
together to push for the ideas that they wished to further. Poor women on the other hand met in
factories, went to dances and the movies, and enjoyed all sorts of events together that made them

127
Ibid., 28.
128
Ibid., 29.
129
Ibid., 30.
130
Ibid., 31.
131
Ibid., 32.
38

grow stronger and more interconnected as a group.
132
This interconnectedness was very
important to women, regardless of what side they were on in the conflict of traditionalism versus
modernity. Many men spent their time either fighting for or against the government and
womens issues were the last thing on their minds. Because of this, women had to find solidarity
among one another to either protest the government or hold out during the turbulence of the
revolution.
Referring back to one of the most powerful types of woman that emerged out of the
Revolution, it is important to discuss the New Woman. This New Woman trend made its
way to Mexico in the 1920s as the concept was introduced from the United States. Oddly
enough, this trend did not begin with the upper class, but rather with poor lower class women
who began to experiment with it by cutting their hair short and donning Deco style clothing.
133

These women sought to blur the gender differences by appearing androgynous, a strong
statement for a culture that had embraced the feminine, submissive woman for so long. What
resulted from this was a massive conflict between traditionalists and the New Women, referred
to as las pelonas. Attacks on them were violent and sometimes deadly, but these women
remained resolute, encouraging exercise and teaching physical education to young women to
keep them fit. Many of these classes incorporated traditional folk dancing as a nod to their native
Mexican roots.
134
As resolute as these women remained, many continued to find fault with their
short hair, stating that they were going too far and attempting to make themselves into men.

132
Ibid.
133
Rubenstein, Anne The War on Las Pelonas: Modern Women and Their Enemies, Mexico City, 1924, in Sex in
Revolution: Gender, Politics, and Power in Modern Mexico, eds: Jocelyn Olcott, Mary Kay Vaughan, Gabriella Cano,
(Durham: Duke University Press, 2006), 57.
134
Ibid., 75.
39

Women would in time earn the rights that they so long fought for and traditionalism
faded away to be replaced by modernity. It would be some time before women would earn the
right to vote, but the solidarity and struggle that developed out of the revolution gave Mexican
women more power than they had ever had before. However, being a woman was only part of
what made Frida Kahlos identity so unique among artists during the Mexican Revolution and its
aftermath. She also was a strong supporter of the Indigenismo movement that struggled for years
to earn equal recognition and representation for Mexicos indigenous population. In order to
round out Kahlos viewpoint further, it is important to also examine this movement in detail, not
only as it functioned as an organization, but what it managed to accomplish during and after the
Mexican Revolution.
The Indigenismo Movement
Essentially, Indigenismo refers to the indigenous population of Mexico and the
Indigenismo Movement refers to the political and social movement that called for equal
treatment and rights for these people along with their full incorporation into the nation of
Mexico. Frida Kahlo and many other artists and writers can be considered a part of this
movement as she wholeheartedly supported not only their culture but their integration into
Mexican society as well. Still, it is important to understand the cycle of repression that the Indian
population was subjected to in order to understand why Kahlo and other Indigenismo Movement
members supported these people as well as the different approaches that the Indigenismo
Movement and their opponents took to either incorporate or push away the native population.
40

Interestingly, the figure of the Indian was an important symbol before independence was
won from Spain.
135
This was because Spain, along with many other European nations,
considered the native populations of areas that they took over to be savage and uncouth because
of their attire, their skin color, and their religion.
136
In contrast, the nationalistic individuals who
would eventually lead the uprising against the Spanish viewed the Indian as a symbol of this
nationalistic pride, praised the artifacts that they had found, and celebrated ancient native culture.
However, there was no mention of living Indians, nor any inclination of the idea that these
people could be active participants in the government of liberated Mexico.
137
Eventually, those
in power, including Daz, fully adopted the ideology of the ousted Spanish: that Indians were
religiously, racially, and intellectually inferior people and they had absolutely no role in the
government.
138
This did not stop him from putting on a sort of tribute to nationalism by having
statues built of ancient Indian folk heroes as a nod not to the Indian population, but the twisted
symbol of the Indian.
During the Mexican Revolution, Indians made up a sizable part of the rebel groups that
were formed by the likes of Villa and Zapata. More often than not, these people, composing the
majority of the impoverished of Mexico were forced to work on large haciendas or in mines.
Some, as previously stated, were even sold into slavery in spite of the abolishing of such a
practice much earlier on in Mexicos history. Because of the desperation of the elites to join the
modern world, the indigenous people that they had oppressed for so many years had suffered
even more than usual. Many of these people joined rebel groups such as the Zapatistas in the
early 1910s to fight for change, while others fought against the white owners of their land on

135
Dawson, Alexander S. Indian and Nation in Revolutionary Mexico, (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2004), 3.
136
Ibid.
137
Ibid.
138
Ibid., 4.
41

their own. Still more retreated into their villages where they attempted to wait out the storm.
When the military began to retaliate against the rebels in 1913 and 1914, the indigenous people
were among the most viciously attacked, their lands being burned and their villages being
sacked. As a result, many more joined rebel ranks and continued to fight until eventually a new
government could arise. However, this new government more often than not neglected their
needs and demands, preferring to focus on other groups and other issues. This is where the
Indigenismo Movement stepped in to speak for the voiceless natives.
There were many methods that the Indigenistas used to try to promote the validity of
Indian participation in government as well as of the Indian people themselves. Their main
obstacles were the concepts of racial inferiority and superiority, which was used as justification
from the government to continue to repress the indigenous people under their rule. One of the
ways that supporters of Indigenismo suggested that this be dealt with was racial mixing to create
social and cultural unification.
139
The pioneer of this belief was Manuel Gamio, an
anthropologist who believed that a fusion of races would help create a stable country, strong,
unified government, and at the same time take care of the needs of the revolutionary state that
Mexico was in at the time.
140
Gamio continued in his study by examining people in villages and
revealing that, while much of Mexico stated that it was white, very many people were of
mixed heritage.
141
This helped to further prove Gamios theory and give it more fuel. Eventually
Gamio came to the conclusion that it wasnt racial inferiority that held the indigenous population
in a lower position, but rather it was the fault of the Spanish colonists.
142
He stated that
colonialism was one of the factors that forced the native people into a backwards state, and,

139
Ibid., 7.
140
Ibid.
141
Ibid., 10.
142
Ibid., 11.
42

even when Mexico gained independence, this state did not fade away due to class and race
divisions that still existed.
143
Gamio also blames Catholicism for the plight of the natives due to
its exclusivism and idea that because the Indians did not accept and adapt to their forced message
of salvation they were somehow lesser people by nature.
144
As such, Gamio strongly rallied for
the combining of the races in Mexico to create a strong unified singular race, and a strong unified
country, possibly in the future.
Other supporters of the Indian people drew from Gamios work for influence, but chose
to focus on other aspects of their culture that they felt would be beneficial to incorporate into
Mexican society such as values and ideology. Also promoted were traditional native styles of art,
music, and dancing, which many Indigenistas, or, supporters of the Indigenismo Movement
embraced not only as being beneficial to Mexican culture as a whole, but were thought to
provide keys to understanding the native population more clearly.
145
There were others that
praised the Indian as a person in a manner more flattering and understanding than the corrupted
nationalistic symbolism. Some Indigenistas valued the instincts that allowed the native
population to survive for so many years along with their intelligence and dedication and
bolstered these positive traits over skin color or race as important values to have in a new and
emerging Mexican society.
146
Of course there were moderate Indigenistas that only wished for
natives to have a role in Mexican government for the simple logical reason that they made up
between 30 and 50 percent of the entire population of the country.
147
The fact that such a large
chunk of the population was widely disregarded and had no governmental rights disturbed many

143
Ibid.
144
Ibid.
145
Ibid., 13.
146
Ibid., 14.
147
Ibid.
43

Indigenistas and they began to openly protest and work toward the ideal of a united Mexico
where everyone had a right to participate in government and could be represented.
Still more individuals chose to openly accept aspects of Indian culture as part of their
own. As stated previously, many of the New Women that embraced modern styles and
progressivism taught exercise classes for women that were based around indigenous dance
styles. Others were school teachers that along with wishing to teach a more to a more liberal
agenda, wished to teach their students about native culture, artwork, religion and history, giving
them a well-rounded history of the country that they called home. Still more were artists that
chose to paint indigenous models or scenes of their daily lives such as gathering food and sitting
around a fire. These people were strongly criticized by the government, the Catholic Church, and
many different groups of radicals and conservatives. As previously stated, the many conservative
womens groups protested the painting and filming of what they considered to be repulsive
brown indigenous skin. Also, the many New Women that advocated exercising through
dance were subjected to violence and assault by many groups of radicals.
148
These New
Women found themselves relating to the indigenous people more and more due to the both of
them struggling with repression. Finally, teachers were also assaulted for their new radical ideas
and some were even killed, but still, these people remained steadfast to their thoughts and
ideologies.
There were many Indigenistas that took this one step farther, dressing themselves in
indigenous attire, featuring large hats, intricate woven ponchos, and, for women, long intricately
patterned skirts and scarves and decorated hairstyles. These people so fully embraced indigenous

148
Rubenstein, Anne The War on Las Pelonas: Modern Women and Their Enemies, Mexico City, 1924, in Sex in
Revolution: Gender, Politics, and Power in Modern Mexico, eds: Jocelyn Olcott, Mary Kay Vaughan, Gabriella Cano,
(Durham: Duke University Press, 2006), 75.
44

culture that they chose to wear the clothes of the people that they so fought for. This can also be
seen as a political statement as well. By wearing the clothes of the repressed indigenous people,
these individuals sought to communicate their concerns about them strongly and wordlessly by
appearance alone. This small section of the Indigenismo Movement was comprised of the most
radical of the Indigenistas and the smallest group.
After the Indigenistas had cast aside the idea of racial inferiority as it was thought to
apply to the native population, justifying their theories in many different ways, they had to come
up with theories as to how the Indians could be incorporated into the society and government of
Mexico as active participants. Many Indigenistas sought to get rid of the traits in Indians that the
majority of the government saw as deplorable such as alcoholism and teenage pregnancy by
educating the indigenous population about the negative consequences of such actions and
behaviors.
149
However, much of their work was for naught as schools began admitting Indian
children for the sole purpose of assimilating them fully, stripping them of their culture and
turning them fully Mexican in culture, appearance, and behavior.
150
More often than not these
failed and the promoters of such radical assimilation were faced with sometimes violent
resistance from the Indian population as they captured savage children from these groups to
re-educate
151
. There were several other projects that attempted to assimilate the natives, but
many of them ended in protest and outrage.
For many years, there were several attempts to continue the assimilation process, as well
as other attempts to incorporate the Indian population into Mexican government and culture,
some failed and some were mildly successful. Others continued to try to understand the needs as

149
Ibid., 21.
150
Ibid., 24.
151
Ibid., 25.
45

well as the unique worldview of the native people so that they could better serve this large chunk
of Mexicos population. They struggled to incorporate the population into the government
through many different manners. Still more people continued to argue that the indigenous people
of Mexico were somehow lesser in intelligence or ability than the mixed race or white middle
and upper classes and that they were far too savage to understand and live in modern society.
However, the Indigenistas had done their part in bringing the issues, injustices, and prejudices
that the Native Population faced into political debate following the Mexican Revolution.
Now that all of the historical background and context has been established, the next step
is to establish Frida Kahlo as a political figure within the situation that occurred between 1910
and 1920 as well as the resulting period of questioning and continued conflict right up until
modern day. Kahlo was more than just an artist and more than just a woman. She had ideas for
change in Mexico and the world that are hidden under the skin of suffering that she continuously
brings forth in her artwork. It is important to look past the emotional meanings of her art and her
appearance and study their socio-political implications.
Under the Suffering Skin
So what is it about Frida Kahlos life, imagery, artwork, and appearance that can shed
light upon the unique experience of a Mexican individual growing up and living during a time of
intense socio-political change? The first step that must be taken is to cast aside the often
romantic image of Frida that many individuals, especially biographers, seem to favor. Granted,
being a disabled and tormented but outspoken and unique woman is a part of Fridas character,
but underneath everything, a lot of her life and her art is highly politically and socially charged.
She was so much more than just a female observer suffering alone in her bed with but an easel
46

and her love for Diego to keep her company, she attempted to be an actor in the fate of her
beloved country to the best of her ability.
The main obstacle to understanding and analyzing Fridas worldview from the artwork,
the photographs, and the diary presented is to cast aside the romantic whitewashing that many
biographers and art aficionados tend to saddle her with. Many people see Frida as only a woman,
or only a disabled individual, or, most detrimentally of all, only a supportive wife to a genius.
The last of these completely takes away her own agency and power and makes it seem like Frida
had no ideas of her own, but instead followed along with whatever Diego believed in. Others
however embrace her life and struggle with open arms, attempting to make it their own and
garner influence from the great woman in this manner, all while the same time ignoring her
political commentary. As Margaret Lindauer states in Devouring Frida: The Art History and
Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo, Frida herself has become sort of a fashion statement and has a
community of extremely rabid fans that adore her and are humbled by her struggle to survive and
remain optimistic in the face of certain death.
152
There is cruel and harsh irony in this because
Frida herself was very strongly against capitalism and the corruption of the modern world. This,
along with the suffering of the Indian population, a childhood exposed to the horrors of
Revolution, and witnessing the unfair treatment of workers in their social struggle was why she
became a part of the Communist Party. One can only think of how Frida herself would react to
her imagery and aspects of her life being incorporated into such petty things as nail polish, t-
shirts, fashion magazines, and popular film. This phenomenon of Fridamania is probably in no
small part due to her vibrant and interesting life. Still, it is extremely detrimental to what Fridas
messages actually were, and, in some cases, Fridamania has gone against Fridas wishes and

152
Lindauer, Margaret Devouring Frida: The Art History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo, (Middletown:
Wesleyan University Press, 1999), 1.
47

hopes almost entirely, a misinterpretation of the artist at best, and a harsh insult to her memory at
worst.
Lindauer continues by stating that Frida has become sort of a role model for some groups
such as repressed women, bisexuals, struggling artists, disabled individuals, and especially
feminists.
153
While Frida would likely be delighted to be a role-model for individuals, she would
not want it to be for these reasons. It is likely, given her diary as evidence as well as her
interaction with her students as an art teacher, that Frida would prefer to show those that look up
to her that they are capable of just as much as she is. Rather than instructing her students to
emulate her, she took them to different places and allowed them to gain inspiration on their own.
She also subjected her own artwork to their criticism rather than using it as a model by which
their own artwork would be graded. Frida also would likely not wish for people to idolize her
during the painful moments of her life, which many people do, as these were very trying and
emotional times, and, even though she makes light of them, she was suffering greatly. Many
Fridaphiles would likely be shocked to know that Frida poked fun at herself during what they
would consider the most moving moments of her life. Still, more importantly, Frida would more
likely want to be a role model politically or socially than artistically. After all, she states in a
journal entry that her artwork is merely her way to serve the Communist Party for she is not a
worker or a tradesman. She would likely wish for those more active than her to embrace a more
active role in political change than she could rather than sitting around idly and fawning over her
artwork.
As has been established by a study of her paintings and photographs, Fridas paintings
are not simply self-referential as many seem to think according to Lindauer. She refers to two

153
Ibid., 3.
48

most commonly constructed Fridas: Frida the Wife and Artist and Frida of the Blood-
Covered Paint Brush. The first completely downplays her influence in both art and politics and
degrades her efforts, whereas the second focuses far too much on her life experience and ignores
the political and social context of her paintings and attire. She refers to Fridaphilia once more,
which is basically a mindless obsession with Fridas experience and life and a blissful ignorance
as to what her artwork seems to truly mean.
154
In contrast, there are people who completely
downplay Frida as a political actor, stating that she nearly always agreed with Diego and his own
socio-political agenda.
155
However, as evidenced through Fridas diary and in her artwork, this
was not the case. Frida herself was more than capable of her own unique political ideology and
exhibits it even without Diego, especially considering that she joined the Communist youth
having not even met him yet. She also had her first experience with politics as a young girl,
being exposed to the horrors of the Mexican Revolution at first at age four, an event that likely
lead her on the political path that she traveled on. Those that would consider her merely a wife
do just as much damage to Fridas socio-political messages as those that blindly praise her. Frida
was her own unique and separate entity, and, while she may have agreed with Diego on some
issues and accompanied him to some demonstrations, she still had her own set of ideas as
presented in her diary.
Continuing on the same track as Lindauers work is Corrine Andersons article
Remembrance of an Open Wound: Frida Kahlo and Post-Revolutionary Mexican Identity,
which agrees that Fridas activism has often been overlooked in favor of talking about her
experience as a wounded woman. Anderson makes an important statement in her article: that
while many members of the Indigenismo Movement tried to romanticize native culture or

154
Ibid., 151.
155
Ibid., 153.
49

incorporate the native population into modern society through assimilation, Frida did not follow
this convention.
156
In fact, Frida shows the rather bloody past of Mexico, with a lot of her focus
upon the violent Aztec civilization to the point where their monuments show up in many pieces
of artwork.
157
Frida also relates herself to many of these images, particularly in pieces such as
The Two Fridas, in which her loved self wears traditional attire, and in many of her self-
portraits. Anderson claims that Frida refuses to romanticize Mexican culture, which seems to be
true because she wasnt using it as a means to an end, and she only toward the end of her life
compared it with another culture. Her painting, Standing on the Borderline between Mexico and
the United States shows Mexican culture as not only a culture of life but a culture of death, and
celebrates the cycle of life and death. Frida also presented Mexican culture in some aspects as
being wounded, such as in Four Inhabitants of Mexico City, in which the pre-Columbian figurine
is not only pregnant but without feet and in the shadows of the sinful Judas and deathly skeleton.
It is clear that she sympathized with these people, but she did her best to do indigenous culture
justice in her artwork, protesting its own whitewashing.
Also important to Fridas Indigenismo agenda was her style of attire, which many people
consider being uniquely hers. However, Fridas attire is a composition of her beliefs, and what
she wore depended on the sort of image she wanted to evoke at the time. At times, she would
wear a mans suit or a more modern womens dress. This was because she seemed to want to
equate herself with the everyday worker in Mexico, or she wanted to make herself appear
professional. She also wears a suit in her painting Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair as a rebellion
against traditional concepts of femininity and Diego who had left her at the time. There were also

156
Andersen, Corrine. Remembrance of an Open Wound: Frida Kahlo and Post-Revolutionary Mexican Identity,
South Atlantic Review, Vol. 74, No.4, 2009, 119.
157
Ibid.
50

many Communist elements in how she dressed. She was gifted with a pair of earrings that are in
the shape of large hands, symbols of the Communist movement and Marxism as seen in her
painting Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick. She often painted herself wearing these and wore
them either in combination with her more business-like attire, or with her traditional indigenous
clothing. This would add to the meaning of these outfits because she would be evoking an image
of either helping the working class through the guiding hands of Communism or helping the
indigenous population through the same means.
Speaking of her traditional attire, Frida was most known for this style, although it is not
her own, which is the common misconception by many people who seek to emulate her. The
style was actually not Fridas own, but rather, Frida was emulating native women. By embracing
her Mexican heritage and dressing both herself and her self-portraits in this style, Frida makes a
strong statement for Indigenismo, one that did not idealize, sexualize, or fetishize the culture of
dress, but presented it to all around her. Whatever style Frida chose to dress in at a public event
or a private night at home, she made a socio-political statement with her uniquely charged attire
that would eventually become inseparable from her own political message, social aspirations and
criticisms, and the woman herself. This would unfortunately lead to many misinterpretations
among the Fridaphiliacs that would take away from the meaning of the attire in the first place.
Fridas feminist side is also evident in not only her attire and mannerisms, but her
artwork as well. Although, like many Communists, Frida believed that the wellbeing of others,
especially the less fortunate came before the wellbeing of more privileged people, there is a
strongly feminist edge to some of her works. Once again Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair comes
to mind, because she was openly defying what it meant to be a beautiful woman with this
painting, equating herself with a previous trend of las pelonas: the New Women. Frida also
51

spent much of her young life being brazen and open about her sexuality rather than repressing it.
Above all, she was comfortable with being a woman and comfortable with her unique
appearance. Frida emphasized what others would have seen as faults in her appearance in her
self-portraits, believing that these unique attributes were part of what made her beautiful. She
didnt shave her brow or her facial hair, nor did she hide them under layers of makeup either in
reality or in the artwork as many women of the time would have. Also, by being a very forward-
thinking woman rather than conservative, Fridas political and social feelings and thoughts were
made all the more feminist in nature. She was not content to lay back and let others speak for
her, she spoke through her artwork and through her appearance. These were very bold moves for
a woman, as, women during her lifetime were expected to be mere accessories to their husbands.
While Frida adored, hated, and obsessed over Diego, she did not blindly follow him, but instead
blazed her own trail.
Fridas diary is the strongest remaining source of what it meant to be Frida Kahlo the
individual, and it completely spits in the face of Fridaphiliacs and those that would place her in
a submissive light at the same time. Although on the very surface, the diary is an artists journal,
evoking her plans for her paintings, full of doodles that are strange and interesting, it contains
direct political and social commentary from Fridas own pen. Frida openly stated that, as
previously stated, she viewed her artwork as her manner to further the goals of her political
party, and she also said that she painted her own reality. If these two statements are put together,
then it can be said that Frida believed in the power of the Communist Party to change things for
the better in Mexico, as evidenced through her journal entries and her artwork. She also strongly
believed that the Revolution had taken away too much precious life to be efficient and that it
once again trapped Mexico in a state where the upper class rule over the oppressed, not seeing it
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as successful. Finally, she believed in the glorious past that the indigenous people of Mexico had,
and she sympathized with all of the pain and suffering that they went through and still endured
during her lifetime. It is Fridas diary that finally completes her look at the world around her and
gives her artwork and her attire meaning other than just being the musings of a wounded woman.
The strong political and social influences upon Fridas life from the time that she was a young
girl guided her brush and helped her to form a viewpoint that is very unique to her experience,
but can also be applied to the experience in Mexico during her lifetime as a whole.
Conclusions
The Mexican Revolution and its aftermath were a socially and politically difficult and
charged time for all of the inhabitants of Mexico. Still, it was a hopeful time for many as they
longed for change and remained optimistic. It was commonly interpreted throughout history as a
time of machismo, where men fought and died for what they believed in while other men
passed laws to either repress other men or to bolster the importance of their peers. It was a time
of war, a time of social protest, and a time of suffering. However, if one sees only through the
commonly used lens of the Zapatista, of the lawmaker, or of the Communist observer, one
forgets the individual whose brush was meant to bring about change and whose intense eyes the
aftermath of the Revolution can be most clearly seen through: Frida Kahlo.
Conversely, Frida Kahlo has been seen as a feminist icon, a popular role model for
women, and a rebellious and edgy bisexual who painted her pain and her joy onto her canvas
with metaphorical blood and tears. Underneath all of that, however, she was a very strong
political actor, expressing her ideas in the only manners that she knew that she could: through art
and appearance. Too many fanatics and art enthusiasts ignore Fridas rampant political and social
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fury as they prefer to focus on her life, her suffering and her joy. Others consider her passive in
regards to politics and look to Diego as being the socio-political influence on Fridas life.
However, Frida had ideas of her own and made them known through her life and her work.
By using Frida Kahlo the woman, the artist, and the political force as a lens to the
Mexican Revolution and its aftermath, one can see the injustices that were brought upon the
working man and the indigenous people more clearly. Fridas dream may not have been realized
in Mexico as it continued to plunge into turmoil, but her vision lived on as a unique and
politically charged way to examine the changing world of twentieth century Mexico.










Bibliography
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Primary Sources
Guzmn, Juan Photograph of Frida Kahlo.
Kahlo, Antonio Photograph of Frida Kahlo.
Kahlo, Frida (Carlos Fuentes, Sarah M. Lowe, and Phyllis Freeman, transl). The Diary of Frida
Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait.
Kahlo, Frida Self-Portrait of the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States, 1932.
Kahlo, Frida. My Dress Hangs There, 1933.
Kahlo, Frida Four Inhabitants of Mexico City, 1938.
Kahlo, Frida The Two Fridas, 1939.
Kahlo, Frida Self Portrait with Cropped Hair, 1940.
Kahlo, Frida Thinking of Death, 1943.
Kahlo, Frida Self-Portrait Dedicated to Marte R. Gmez, 1946.
Kahlo, Frida Self-Portrait with Unbound Hair, 1947.
Kahlo, Frida Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick, 1954
Kahlo, Guillermo Family Photograph, 1924.
Murray, Nickolas Photograph of Frida Kahlo, 1939.
Murray, Nickolas Photograph of Frida Kahlo
Photograph of Frida Kahlo, Cristina Kahlo, and Aurora Reyes
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Photograph of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at a demonstration for the Syndicate of Technical
Workers, Painters, and Sculptors, 1929.
Photograph of Frida Kahlo at a rally, 1954.
Secondary Sources
Andersen, Corrine. Remembrance of an Open Wound: Frida Kahlo and Post-Revolutionary
Mexican Identity, South Atlantic Review, Vol. 74, No.4, 2009.
Calavert, Peter The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1914: The Diplomacy of Anglo-American
Conflict, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968).
Hart, John Mason, Revolutionary Mexico: The Coming and Processes of the Mexican
Revolution, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987).
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico 1910-1982: Reform or Revolution?, (London: Zed
Press, 1983).
Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy Mexico: The End of the Revolution, (London: Praeger, 2002).
Dawson, Alexander S. Indian and Nation in Revolutionary Mexico, (Tucson: University of
Arizona Press, 2004).
Lindauer, Margaret A. Devouring Frida: The Art History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo,
(Hanover: University Press of New England, 1999).
Monsivis, Carlos When Gender Cant Be Seen Among the Symbols: Women and the Mexican
Revolution, in Sex in Revolution: Gender, Politics, and Power in Modern Mexico, eds: Jocelyn
Olcott, Mary Kay Vaughan, Gabriella Cano, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006).
Rubenstein, Anne The War on Las Pelonas: Modern Women and Their Enemies, Mexico City,
1924, in Sex in Revolution: Gender, Politics, and Power in Modern Mexico, eds: Jocelyn
Olcott, Mary Kay Vaughan, Gabriella Cano, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006).
Vaughan, Mary Kay Pancho Villa, the Daughters of Mary, and the Modern Woman: Gender in
the Long Mexican Revolution, in Sex in Revolution: Gender, Politics, and Power in Modern
Mexico, eds: Jocelyn Olcott, Mary Kay Vaughan, Gabriella Cano, (Durham: Duke University
Press, 2006).
Zamora, Martha Frida Kahlo: The Brush of Anguish, (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990).



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Images
(fig. 1) Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, 1940.
(fig. 2) Thinking of Death, 1943.
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(fig. 3) Self-Portrait Dedicated to Marte R. Gmez, 1946
(fig. 4) Self-Portrait with Unbound Hair, 1947
(fig. 5) The Two Fridas, 1939.
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(fig. 6) Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico
and the United States, 1932.

(fig.7) My Dress Hangs There, 1933.

(fig. 8) Four Inhabitants of Mexico City, 1938.

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(fig. 9) Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick, 1954.
(fig. 10) Family Photograph
(fig. 11) Photograph with Frida Kahlo Cristina Kahlo and
Aurora Reyes
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(fig. 12) Photograph of Frida Kahlo
(fig. 13) Photograph of Frida Kahlo
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(fig. 14) Photograph of Frida Kahlo
(fig. 15) Photograph of Frida Kahlo
(fig. 16) Photograph of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
at a demonstration for the Syndicate of Technical Workers, Painters, and Sculptors
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(fig. 17) Photograph of Frida Kahlo at a Rally
(fig. 18) Illustration from diary
(figs. 19 + 20) Illustrations from diary

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