lol thats not even true, but regardless the point is that just because frida had an indigenous ancestor somewhere doesn’t mean that she could take any part of indigenous peoples’ culture as if it belonged to her, or that it wasn’t appropriation for her to dress how she did. thats like white girls who have a cherokee ancestor somewhere down the line wearing headdresses or warpaint or anything else. thats not even getting started on how the whole concept of mestizaje in mexico is a white supremacist ideology
frida was protected by her racial background (mostly white) and class (affluent) from the lived realities that people who were actually from indigenous communities in mexico like poverty, destruction of their culture and communities, and not having access to education, healthcare, upward mobility etc. why do u think her family had indigenous women as maids? why do u think she was the only one in her family who dressed like that?
same as how now white chicanas who are completely removed from their indigenous roots, communities, and traditions will wear huipiles at conferences and make academic and art careers off of being “mestizas” (cherrie moraga lol) while women who are actually indigenous in mexico and wear huipiles every day are still subject to extreme poverty, high rates of violence, sexual and otherwise, racism, and will never have access to the same institutions as “mestizas”
honestly how many indigenous women back then do u think had access to expensive long-term medical care like she did, or education like she did, or could make careers in art? she gained all the access of whiteness but didnt have to deal with any of the real repercussions of being indigenous
thats the issue, not whether u want to accept that she was a white latina or not
So glad to see this finally being discussed. I recommend the 2000 documentary Blossoms of Fire as an introduction to the culture of the Isthmus Zapotecs of Juchitán in southern Oaxaca, Mexico, from which Frida borrowed so much of her dress and other elements of personal presentation.