Reckoning with Icons: Frida Kahlo and Cultural Appropriation

Harvard Political Review ^ | 1/6/24 | Diana Ochoa-Chavez

[DallasBiff]

Recently, Kahlo has become a polarizing figure in the conversation about cultural appropriation. While some express profound admiration and reverence for the artist, others passionately argue that Kahlo profited off an exoticized, calculated self-image at the expense of Indigenous people. To some, this accusation may seem like a wrongful application of the concept of cultural appropriation. After all, Kahlo was a citizen of the country from which her clothes originated, and she was immersed in Indigenous culture. Therefore, some claim that she was justified in wanting to embrace her Indigenous roots as a form of self-expression.

Both supporters and critics of Kahlo engage in the wider debate on who can reclaim parts of their heritage and identity — a complex, evolving concept. To better comprehend the grievances of Indigenous Mexican communities, one must examine Kahlo’s genealogy and the way she chose to portray her identity.

Kahlo was the daughter of a German man and a mestiza woman; the term mestiza refers to a person of mixed Spanish and Indigenous descent. Kahlo’s mother held tenuous ties to the Indigenous people of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a region in the state of Oaxaca.

[P.O.E.]

IIRC, Diego Rivera frescoed some of Rockefeller Center.

When Nelson Rockefeller found out he snuck Lenin into one of the murals, he had it plastered over.

[jmacusa]

And a mustache.

[End Times Sentinel]

Maybe I'm missing the point, but I work with a fella named "Craig" but his parents are both Chinese immigrants, and every time I hear his name, I feel micro-agressed and want to strike out with great vengeance and furious anger. How dare they/he appropriate something from my culture!

That's copacetic right now, isn't it?

[End Times Sentinel]

She’s also handicapped, a “brow-clopse”.

[Lee N. Field]

Have no idea, who Frida Kahlo is/was, but this is what is important to Harvard students now?

Early 20th cent. Mexican artist. Sad life. Hated gringos, IIRC, but took their money. And a commie.

[Rummyfan]

LOL!

[Rummyfan]

Pretty sure she was married to famed muralist Diego Rivera (if it’s Jeopardy and it’s murals, it’s him!)….

Yes she was.

[Rummyfan]

They were both big commies, but even that is not enough anymore, as you see. One must be a commie of color…

Apparently they weren’t the right kind of commies!

[Rummyfan]

Additionally it also has a great cast. The director rounded up a lot of big names for small parts. For whatever reason….

[Rummyfan]

Illogical ?!!Oh yeah!

[nicollo]

And you can yell at him for turning on the lights. Or driving a car. Yours, not his!

[Eagles6]

Merino wool?🤔

[Eagles6]

Sicilian guys dig it.

[jmacusa]

LOL! How do you tell the bride at a Sicilian wedding?

She’s the one with the shaved armpits.

[FreedomForce]

Suspected of being involved, but I don’t think anything was proven. She idolized Stalin. That should be pointed out as often as possible to her fans.

[nickcarraway]

But if she idolized Stalin, why was she letting Trotsky live with her?

[FreedomForce]

Because she was a Trotskyite before she became a Stalinist.

[Noumenon]

She was a mediocre artist who was also a communist.