Frida Kahlo, one of the most celebrated painters from Mexico, led a life filled with both mental and physical suffering, but she never gave up, even when her body did. As a young teenager, she was one of the victims in a trolley accident. Getting impaled by a rod lead to countless health complications throughout her life, causing multiple miscarriages, leaving her in a constant state of pain but opening her eyes to the beauty of art.

Toward the end of her life, Kahlo had her leg amputated because of gangrene, another betrayal her body had committed against her. When you would think that someone in her situation would lose all hope, instead she wrote in a notebook: “Pies para que los quiero si tengo alas para volar” (Feet what do I need you for when I have wings to fly).

The fortitude and resilience that Frida Kahlo exemplified in her life are an inspiration. She deserves the title of feminist icon, a woman who truly knew what it was like to be free when everything in the world, even when her own body, was against her.

Kahlo is not known for being a perfect example of traditional beauty for women. Instead, she is esteemed for the exact opposite. She refused to trim her mustache, alter her unibrow or shave her armpits, keeping all of the elements of “masculinity” visible in her appearance. Kahlo was not afraid to defy the societal norms for women, wearing vibrant clothing, putting flowers and weaving fabric into her hair, as well as having “masculine” features. Although she rejected fitting into the mold of the world around her, Kahlo’s act of standing out caused her to become a fashion icon for the weird and unusual. Her strong sense of self and style attracted the attention of countless fans, as she is still thought to be one of the most beautiful women in art and history books.

Along with her societal disobedience through her appearance, Frida Kahlo broke the gender stereotypes further than just facial and body hair. During multiple occasions in her life, Kahlo dressed like a man. She appeared in many family photos and even in one of her own self-portrait (months after her divorce from her husband, and fellow painter, Diego Rivera) dressed as a man. She also drank heavily and was known to be brazen enough to challenge men in drinking tequila, which was never seen or expressed in other conventional women of her time. She had no fear of public humiliation or backlash, but would rather spit in the face of gender norms and what her society deemed acceptable of women.

The early to mid 1900s was a time where sexuality had a very rigid expectation of heterosexuality. But it was women like Frida Kahlo who disregarded this limit on sexual orientation and showcased their pride in bisexuality. Kahlo didn’t hide the fact that she was attracted to and slept with both men and women. Her sexual exploration, and soon sexual epiphany, began during her marriage to Diego Rivera. He was publicly known for being unfaithful to Kahlo, incapable of being sexually loyal, leading the couple to have an open relationship. Kahlo never tried to hide the women whom she slept with, who turned out to be the very same women that Diego Rivera slept with previously. A woman being openly bisexual in a very homophobic time while also sleeping with the same women that her husband cheated on her with is definitely someone to be in awe of. I can’t help but laugh at how outrageous, yet rebellious this one aspect of her life is, how none other than Frida Kahlo thinks to do this, of all things, in order to show her sexual and personal freedom. She knew how to make her point, whether it was a societal or personal revolt, and knew how to get her message across to those she wished to see.

Born a little over 110 years ago and dead 47 years later, Frida Kahlo’s short life was filled with monumental triumph. She is thought to be one of the best artists from Mexico, known for her numerous heart wrenching and beautiful self-portraits which authentically depicted her own tales of anguish, but she was and is so much more than just her paintings. In my eyes, and in the hearts of others, Frida Kahlo represents an emblem of early feminism and female freedom.

Madeline Gloade can be reached at [email protected]