Monday, October 15, 2012

And then I was all like FEMINISM

Today in Spanish class, my teacher tried to teach us about Frida Kahlo, but all the boys in my class took it upon themselves to make the class into a "let's-insult-Frida-Kahlo-based-on-her-looks-alone" session. Being the only female in the class and the extreme feminist that I am, sitting through comments such as "Who would marry that??" and "I can't even look at it!" and "Couldn't she have made herself look a little bit better??" infuriated me.
Okay, so Frida's art is pretty subjective, and not everyone will appreciate it. But comments like "she should fix herself up a bit, then she could be pretty" are uncalled for. First of all, the whole point of Frida's art just went right over your head. Second of all, I can guarantee these guys would not be saying the same thing if Frida was a man. And it's true. While a man can be any number of things, can take any form or have any appearance, a woman must always be "pretty". Otherwise, people will get mad at her. "It's her fault," people will say. "She could have fixed herself up. She could look nicer if she wanted to." If this is so, how come men aren't told the same thing? Because men aren't held to the same standard of perfection that women are. This is why it is so difficult for women who don't measure up to the conventional standard of beauty. It's gotten to the point where even the work of an amazing and passionate artist is overlooked because of her looks.

So, because of the ignorant people in my class today, this post is dedicated to Frida Kahlo. You go, Frida.

                                  

2 comments:

  1. I love Frida Kahlo and to hear comments like that is really shocking.

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