How Frida Kohlo Celebrates Disability and Feminism through Art

By Mary Zheng

Born on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, Mexico, Kahlo’s life was fraught with physical pain and emotional turmoil from a young age. At six, she contracted polio, leaving her with a limp that would endure throughout her life. Then, at eighteen, a devastating bus accident fractured her spine, pelvis, and ribs, condemning her to a lifetime of excruciating pain and multiple surgeries. It was during her agonizing recovery that she turned to painting as a form of therapy and self-expression.

Kahlo’s art became a mirror of her tumultuous inner world, an unfiltered reflection of her pain and unyielding spirit. Through her self-portraits, she transforms her suffering into profound works of art. Central to Kahlo’s artistic vision was her unwavering commitment to advocating for disability rights. In an era when disabilities were often stigmatized and marginalized, she fearlessly embraced her physical limitations, refusing to be defined by them.

For example, in her work, Tree of Hope, Remain Strong, Kahlo displays two images of herself. On one side of the work is the daytime kahlo with her back cut open, representing the injuries and impairments she suffered after her bus accident. On the right side the image is Kahlo sitting confidently in the evening holding an orthopedic corset and a flag saying “ Tree of Hope, Remain Strong.” The barren landscape behind her has two fissures which are a metaphor of the wounds on her back. In this portrait, by putting the two images together, one a victim of the botched tragedy, the other the heroic survivor, the artist turns her work into a retablo–an act of faith—in which she takes charge of her destiny and becomes her own savior.

Moreover, Kahlo’s art was imbued with a fierce feminist consciousness. In a landscape dominated by male artists, she carved out her own space by focusing on themes of female identity, sexuality, and autonomy. One of Kahlo’s most enduring contributions to the feminist discourse was her illustration of the female body. She rejects the idealized depictions of women prevalent in art history while embracing her own physicality with an unflinching gaze, confronting viewers with the raw realities of womanhood. From the bold colors of her traditional Tehuana dresses to the haunting imagery of childbirth and fertility, her art celebrated the power and resilience of the female experience.