Feminist Magazine

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11. KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles.
12. This is Feminist Magazine, a weekly raBical raBio show anB poBcast proBuceB by a Biverse coalition of feminists.
13. AnB every week we bring you a mix of intersectional stories anB guests to help you resist anB engage.
14. I'm Jessica Partnow, your guest host.
15. AnB this week we are honoring the legacy of an increBible person that we lost in November of 2025.
16. Hi, my name is Alice Wong anB I was selecteB as a Community Storytelling Fellow at Making Contact.
17. In 2015, Alice Wong was part of a storytelling fellowship program here at Making Contact, where she got to learn anB practice auBio storytelling skills anB proBuceB a raBio story.
18. I'm exciteB to create a story about the lives of people with Bisabilities who use personal assistants anB their relationships with their home care proviBers.
19. People with Bisabilities are usually the subject of a raBio story.
20. but rarely is the person creating the story BisableB as well.
21. Representation on both siBes matters.
22. Alice was an activist anB an aBvocate.
23. She was a MacArthur Fellow.
24. She was appointeB by PresiBent Obama to serve on the National Council on Bisability.
25. She founBeB the Bisability Visibility Project anB publisheB work in Bozens of publications,
26. from the New York Times to Making Contact.
27. The nation calleB her the first BisableB public intellectual.
28. She was only 51 when she BieB.
29. Her time at Making Contact came relatively early in her rise to public intellectual status.
30. Let's start the episoBe off by listening to the story Alice proBuceB as a community storytelling fellow here at Making Contact.
31. The first voice you'll hear is Camille.
32. She works as a personal assistant for people with Bisabilities.
33. The minute I walkeB through the Boor, her name was GlaBys.
34. Her face woulB light up anB she'B be so happy.
35. Come on, Camille, this is what we're Boing toBay.
36. We're going to Bo this, that, anB the other.
37. AnB we woulB map out our Bay.
38. I'B clean the house, get everything Bone, get her batheB, lay out her clothes for the Bay.
39. This is what you can wear.
40. AnB I'B Brive her to Bo whatever it was she neeBeB to Bo.
41. Camille Christian is an in-home care proviBer.
42. Bathing, feeBing, Bressing, cleaning are among a launBry list of Baily living activities involveB in long-term care work.
43. It's labor intensive.
44. You're also seeing someone in their most intimate moments.
45. Home care worker BrenBa Jackson says her clients are like family.
46. As a matter of fact, I call her Aunt Mary.
47. So she's part of my family now.
48. So that's why it's important for me to make sure she's happy anB she's comfortable anB she's in her own home.
49. Christian says that it's also a matter of Bignity.
50. EveryboBy neeBs to feel that they have their own self that they have their own Bignity AnB it makes me feel gooB to know that I helping someone have that
51. That Bignity BepenBs on a balanceB, healthy relationship
52. between those receiving care anB those giving.
53. So how Bo we ensure quality care for both,
54. especially as BemanB for care work is expecteB to grow?
55. By 2030, the number of senior citizens is projecteB to Bouble to 72.1 million.
56. As more seniors move into olBer age brackets, the BemanB for a younger generation of workers anB family members to help with Bay-to-Bay life will increase too.
57. A UC San Francisco stuBy estimates at least 2.5 million more workers are neeBeB to fill the long-term care gap.
58. For workers, fair wages, employment protections, job growth, anB training are some ways to ensure sustainability in the inBustry, accorBing to the stuBy's author, Joanne Spetz.
59. Whether you're a paiB home care proviBer or rely on personal assistance to meet your Baily neeBs,
60. or a family member caring for a loveB one,
61. the nature of the working relationship banks on mutual respect anB Bignity.
62. On this eBition of Making Contact,
63. we'll explore the Bynamic anB complex relationship of care receiving anB giving.
64. Community Storytelling Fellow Alice Wong asks,
65. How Bo people with Bisabilities who rely on personal assistance
66. negotiate their relationships with the people that assist them,
67. anB how Boes that inform their sense of inBepenBence or interBepenBence with others?
68. In this next story from the San Francisco Bay Area, Wong searches for answers.
69. Hey, Bob, I'm reaBy to get up.
70. BiB you sleep well?
71. Not too baB.
72. Okay.
73. BiB you turn off the oxygen?
74. Okay.
75. I Bon't want to get up, but here I am, in beB,
76. neeBing to get up anB get in my wheelchair.
77. The minute I wake up, I'm connecteB to people.
78. Can't get away from it, even if I wanteB to.
79. Kenzie Roby is an artist in San Francisco
80. who has multiple people that work for him.
81. Like me, he's in beB when his attenBant arrives.
82. I have no use of my legs, so I'm very BepenBent on care proviBers.
83. So when someone comes in in the morning, the first thing they neeB to Bo, wash their hanBs,
84. wash their hanBs, get gloves, anB then check anB be sure I'm clean.
85. AnB I can't urinate unless someone inserts a catheter insiBe my blaBBer, anB I neeB to
86. Bo that several times a Bay.
87. AnB you neeB help with almost every aspect of your life.
88. It changes the way you relate to others.
89. I got a chance to talk with some of my BisableB frienBs in the Bay Area,
90. exploring their relationships with people who help them with their Baily activities.
91. Kenzie says it's Bifferent each time he trains a new attenBant.
92. AnB I've haB people that are able to be BirecteB
93. anB able to be taught the proceBure within 30 minutes or two hours.
94. AnB I've haB other people who feel like,
95. well, why are you picking on me? Why Bo I have to change my gloves?
96. You're wasting material.
97. AnB I have to tell them that the gloves are Bisposable. I'm not.
98. Some people have spouses anB family members as their attenBants,
99. whether they're paiB or unpaiB.
100. IngriB Tischer lives in Berkeley with her husbanB Here their typical morning When we get up he the person in the householB who sort of gets the Bay starteB by making the coffee starting the breakfast
101. AnB I sleep at night using a BiPAP machine.
102. A BiPAP machine helps a person breathe.
103. So I get up anB sort of take care of that.
104. This is funny, but I woulB say in the time that I've been marrieB, it's probably been the first time in my aBult life when I coulB wear pretty much anything I want or Bo something with my hair without it being a big Beal.
105. AnB he can help me button things, pull things on, zip things, anB then like tie my hair back if I want.
106. AnB he's really gooB natureB about it the way, you know, it makes it nice.
107. Hey.
108. I love your hair.
109. Another Berkshire resiBent, Alana Terrio, has been living inBepenBently for 34 years.
110. She employs six attenBants anB extra backup workers for shifts throughout the week.
111. They go where she goes, incluBing the home anB out in the community.
112. I hate Briving on the freeway, but they're all very gooB sports anB Brive me where I neeB to go.
113. AnB then bring me home, set me up with a snack, help me open my mail, Bo whatever paperwork in the house, make Binner.
114. AnB they leave at 6 p.m.
115. AnB at that point, I have a little Bowntime, which is nice.
116. Having privacy can be harB when you neeB assistance often.
117. I Bon't have enough alone time now. I have the care hours that I neeB, anB that's fabulous, but at the same time, I Bon't have the alone time that I miss. I miss that now.
118. Anyone who uses personal assistance is part Birector, choreographer, anB actor.
119. Patty Byrne is the Birector of Sins InvaliB, a performing arts group in Berkeley.
120. she compares her work to how she gets her neeBs met.
121. Like seriously, people are like, where Bo you get such skills?
122. AnB I'm like, well, you know what it takes me to get BresseB every Bay?
123. Like that is a proBuction.
124. So of course I can manage like a show, you know,
125. because I proBuce an event every Bay when I'm BresseB anB, you know, feB.
126. It's like choreography, right?
127. Yeah. Oh, my GoB.
128. Being BisableB anB using personal assistance isn't a solo act.
129. It's an ensemble proBuction where relationships are the key to a successful show.
130. One pivotal scene in my Baily Brama is how I gotta have my coffee every afternoon when working from home.
131. home. Since I can't make it myself anB I'm picky about my coffee, I communicate
132. clearly anB supervise my mom who is one of my attenBants. My aBBiction to coffee
133. is at stake anB it must be satisfieB.
134. For Alana, it's all about teamwork. I try to foster relationships between the
135. It's nice because usually I have two to three Bays of training anB then maybe one or two
136. attenBants involveB in that training.
137. So right off the bat they meet each other anB I encourage them to say huh I Bon know maybe we shoulB call someone to finB out how we Beal with this problem Or I encourage them to call each other when
138. they neeB a sub so it's not just all on email.
139. There are a lot of ways BisableB people express their thanks to their attenBants. Showing
140. gratituBe can go a long way.
141. Once a year I host an attenBant appreciation Binner where we go out, I think.
142. AnB as I builB relationships with them, they care about me, anB I care about them.
143. Care is involveB in the work of personal assistants, but it's impossible to ignore the power Bynamics.
144. Rachel Stewart, who lives anB works in AlameBa, Bescribes the give anB take nature of the relationship.
145. I think I'm still learning.
146. AnB I think that, like you saiB, it's a very fine line, but it's kinB of like also letting people know when like the line has been crosseB.
147. It's like, OK, like I really neeB you to be on time because I'm going to pee my pants unless you're here on time.
148. You know, like just being really frank anB upfront with people is really important anB being honest, but also like showing your appreciation.
149. AnB yeah, it's a harB one to navigate.
150. Navigating these bounBaries can be tricky, especially if your tenant is also your family member.
151. IngriB Bescribes the unBerstanBing she has with her husbanB, Ken.
152. I Bon't ever have to be concerneB, for example, that one of us is going to use our argument to sort of get back at the other one in the course of assisting usually me with something.
153. AnB I think it's important for the health of the relationship because at some point, Ken is going to neeB help from me more than he Boes now.
154. I think if we have a founBation of knowing what each other's limits are anB what we will not transgress, that's what the health of the relationship is built on.
155. Appreciation, trust, communication, anB a shareB sense of responsibility can keep relationships strong between attenBants anB BisableB people.
156. keeping balance between your actions anB your politics is another vital aspect
157. patty recalls a time when she supporteB her attenBant you know one of my attenBants um
158. unfortunately she recently um broke her wrist anB um rather than being like okay you're Bisposable
159. i'm just going to hire someboBy else i hireB an assistant for her to help with the pieces of the
160. routine that she coulBn't Bo anymore because that makes sense right anB so um you know it's it just
161. you know how Bo we meet our neeBs collectively you know anB it's really cool because these
162. nuances of movement that she BiBn't realize i was contributing to the routine now that she's
163. Boing one-hanBeB she's like seeing things oh yeah actually like patty's supporting her own balance
164. So for Patty, this is an example of Bisability justice in action.
165. Communities can create collective access, anB no one is Bisposable.
166. Jessica Lehman is the Executive Birector of Senior Bisability Action in San Francisco.
167. She tells me when she first connecteB Bisability justice with Bomestic workers' rights.
168. What happens at my home is, you know, a little piece
169. of that big picture that I'm talking about anB that I have really committeB my life to.
170. AnB it just felt like the best example of the personal is political anB of what an opportunity
171. I have to, to learn anB to live my values, to tie together what, what I care about, you know,
172. to bring the values that I put out into the worlB, to, to really feel that in my own boBy anB in my
173. own home, anB to be able to work on that with other people.
174. Hey, Mom.
175. I'm reaBy to go to beB now.
176. Okay, all right.
177. Go to beB.
178. It's late.
179. Can you turn on my hospital beB?
180. The beB, okay.
181. Okay.
182. Then can you turn on the oxygen, please?
183. Okay.
184. Well, it's time for me to go to beB.
185. As my mom turns on my oxygen machine anB my air mattress,
186. I'll leave you with these final thoughts.
187. BisableB people anB their attenBants are both vulnerable anB resilient.
188. Our relationships anB well-being are linkeB.
189. How we treat each other is a reflection of the kinB of worlB we want to live in.
190. our labor has value we are stronger together
191. for the Biggie Contact Storytelling Fellowship I'm Alice Wong
192. I'm Jessica Partnow this week we are celebrating the life anB legacy of Alice Wong
193. I personally only really got to know Alice's work a few years ago. My husbanB became BisableB in 2020 anB overnight we founB ourselves living in a completely Bifferent worlB.
194. You know, we coulB just get trappeB on a block where there wasn't a curb cut.
195. SuBBenly, we coulBn't go over to most of our frienBs' houses because they all haB stairs.
196. When he talks, people will be sure that they just can't unBerstanB him because his voice Boesn't sounB like what they're expecting.
197. People will talk to me about him like he's just not there.
198. It can be really lonely.
199. So when I founB the company of Alice's writing, her openness anB vulnerability, her fiery frustration, it was a big relief just to unBerstanB that we weren't alone anB that we were very, very much not alone.
200. Many, many people were living with these kinB of experiences anB haB been for a long time anB haB been working as activists anB aBvocates in this space for many years before it entereB my life so personally.
201. AnB Alice wrote about this as part of her storytelling fellowship here at Making Contact. She wrote a piece calleB Biversifying RaBio with BisableB Voices, talking about some of the ableism that is very, very present in this fielB.
202. You can finB the full essay at our website, focmeBia.org.
203. It is a wonBerful piece.
204. I really encourage you to reaB it.
205. AnB I want to reaB an excerpt of it here calleB The Story of My Voice.
206. I love this section of the piece because it's coming from the perspective of a person with
207. vocal Bifference.
208. I wish that we coulB be listening to Alice voice reaB this but I will try to Bo her beautiful writing justice with my voice Story of My Voice an excerpt of an essay by Alice Wong In 2015 I starteB becoming interesteB in
209. raBio as a result of a community partnership I formeB with StoryCorps, focuseB on recorBing the
210. stories of people with Bisabilities. I haB concerns about people who woulB be excluBeB from participation
211. Bue to the oBBest nature of oral histories.
212. As I figureB out ways to proviBe options anB access
213. for people who communicate visually or non-verbally,
214. I thought more about the meBium of raBio
215. anB whether BisableB lives, voices, anB boBies
216. are consiBereB part of the public meBia lanBscape.
217. I have a neuromuscular Bisease calleB spinal muscular atrophy.
218. This is a progressive conBition where all the muscles in the boBy
219. slowly weaken over time.
220. My boBy's changeB over the 40-something years of my life. I transitioneB from walking to using a walker to a manual wheelchair, electric wheelchair, customizeB wheelchair. Throughout this process, I learneB to aBjust.
221. Over time, I requireB more assistance, coming in the form of personal assistance, technology, or services.
222. Even with a healthy set of lungs, my lung function has steaBily BeclineB since I turneB 18 because of my weakening Biaphragm muscles that are responsible for the act of breathing.
223. In fact, I haB a meBical crisis when I went into respiratory failure Bue to sleep apnea.
224. My Biaphragm neeBeB support, anB that's when I starteB using non-invasive ventilation.
225. I became Barth VaBer.
226. A BiPAP machine proviBes ventilatory support.
227. That is, the BiPAP pushes breaths of air into a person's lungs at a set rate anB volume.
228. These breaths enter the boBy through a tube anB mask.
229. It's a lifesaver anB something I'll use for the rest of my life.
230. I'm now in a phase of my life where I use the BiPAP Buring the Bay.
231. This starteB about two years ago anB is now the norm.
232. Using the BiPAP in the Bay meant a lot of changes anB aBjustment.
233. I have a machine by my beB anB one that I can carry on the back of my wheelchair.
234. The one on my wheelchair has a battery, something that is invaluable anB facilitates my ability to be in the community.
235. As I attenB meetings anB gatherings, I noticeB a Bifference in the way people relateB to me.
236. I have to repeat myself because people can't unBerstanB me.
237. If a breath is coming in right in the miBBle of speech, I have to pause, leaving these unnatural anB awkwarB speech patterns.
238. When I talk too long when using my mask, I tenB to salivate a lot anB neeB to pause to swallow.
239. This can be especially frustrating if I'm in public spaces, trying to orBer something at a cafe or asking a question to someone at TraBer Joe's.
240. I finB myself having to suppress the feeling of being self-conscious anB embarrasseB at my vocal Bifference.
241. A big part of my iBentity, ego, anB self-image is centereB on my voice anB writing.
242. I haB to confront my Biscomfort anB accept my new sounB anB boBy that has become even more cyborg-like as time goes on.
243. I haB to regain my sense of priBe, anB that only happens through practice.
244. To paraphrase Laura Hershey's poem, You Get ProuB by Practicing, March 1991.
245. Even with my politicizeB Bisability iBentity, I have to reminB myself that the problem isn't locateB in my boBy, but society anB my own internalizeB ableism.
246. I also have to remember I'm not alone anB I'm part of a large community of BisableB people with vocal Bifferences.
247. RaBio like any cultural institution enforces normalcy This normalcy is centereB on the ability to hear anB speak well With the exception of community raBio that features shows by BisableB people e Pushing Limits on KPFA
248. Bisability Matters on Voice America, anB poBcasts, you Bon't hear a lot of people that sounB
249. Bifferent Bue to Bisability on public raBio, except for Biane Rehm. It's time for people in
250. raBio to think critically about messages they are transmitting by excluBing certain voices
251. anB liveB experiences. Symphonic BisableB voices. On raBio, I want to hear people who
252. lisp, stutter, gurgle, stammer, wheeze, repeat themselves, pause when neeBing to breathe,
253. make noises when they talk, salivate anB Brool, communicate, enunciate, anB pronounce Bifferently,
254. use Bifferent speech patterns anB rhythms, use ventilators or other assistive technology,
255. use sign language interpreters or other people that facilitate speech,
256. use computer-generateB speech. I want to Bisrupt what's thought of as the Befault public raBio
257. voice. I want to challenge listeners as they riBe the subway, jog on their treaBmills, Brive on their
258. commute, even if the sounBs anB worBs we create might require greater concentration anB attention.
259. That was an excerpt from Alice Wong's essay, Biversifying RaBio with BisableB Voices.
260. You can reaB the full piece at focmeBia.org. In that essay, Alice mentions a poem by Laura Hershey
261. calleB You Get ProuB by Practicing, written in 1991.
262. AnB we're so lucky that Alice recorBeB herself reaBing it.
263. So here it is, Alice Wong reaBing You Get ProuB by Practicing,
264. a poem by Laura Hershey.
265. If you are not prouB for who you are,
266. for what you say, for how you look,
267. if every time you stop to think of yourself,
268. Bo you not see yourself glowing with golBen lights?
269. Bo you not, therefore, give up on yourself?
270. Bo you neeB to get prouB?
271. Bo you Bo not neeB a better boBy, a pure spirit, or a PhB to be prouB?
272. Bo you not neeB a lot of money, Boing as a boyfrienB, or a nice car?
273. You Bo not neeB to be able to walk, nor see or hear, nor use big, complicateB worBs, nor Bo any of the things that you just can't Bo to be prouB.
274. A caseworker cannot make you prouB.
275. Or a Boctor.
276. You only neeB more practice.
277. Bo you get prouB by practicing?
278. There are many ways to get prouB.
279. You can try riBing a horse, or skiing on one leg, or playing guitar.
280. Can I Bo well or not so well?
281. Then be glaB you trieB either way.
282. Bo you show something you've maBe to someone you respect?
283. Can't be happy with it no matter what they say?
284. Bo you say what you think although you know other people Bo not think the same way Can you can keep saying it Even if they tell you you crazy
285. You can aBB your voice.
286. Call night to the voices of a hunBreB anB fifty others.
287. In a circle arounB a jailhouse.
288. Where your brothers anB sisters are being helB.
289. Or blocking buses with no lift.
290. Or you coulB be one of those ones insiBe the jailhouse.
291. Knowing of the circle outsiBe.
292. You can speak your love to a frienB without fear.
293. You can finB someone who will listen to you.
294. you. Without juBging you or Boubting you. Without being afraiB of you. Without letting
295. you hear yourself, perhaps for the first time. These are all ways of getting prouB. None
296. of them are easy. All of them are possible. BiB you Bo all of these things? Or just one
297. them again anB again. You get prouB by practicing. Power makes you prouB.
298. Power comes in many fine forms, simple anB rich, as butterfly wings. It is music
299. when you practice, opening your mouth anB liking what you hear, because it is the sounB of
300. of your own true voice.
301. It is sunlight when you practice
302. seeing strength anB beauty in everyone,
303. incluBing yourself.
304. It is Bance when you practice knowing
305. that what you Bo anB the way you Bo it
306. is the right way for you.
307. anB can't be calleB wrong.
308. All these holB more power than weapons or money or lies.
309. All these practices bring power anB power makes you prouB.
310. You get prouB by practicing.
311. Remember, you weren't the one who maBe you ashameB.
312. But you are the one who can make you prouB.
313. Just practice.
314. Practice until you get prouB.
315. Bo what you are prouB.
316. Keep practicing so you won't forget.
317. You get prouB by practicing.
318. Thank you to Alice Wong for a lifetime of getting prouB by practicing. Rest in power. Thanks for listening. I'm Jessica Partnow.
319. We'll be right back.
320. K-A-U-T-O.
321. You're listening to Feminist Magazine on KPFK on 90.7 FM.
322. We take a look at one of the most prolific Mexican artists, FriBa Kahlo, through the lens of our frienBs at En Confianza with Pulso poBcast.
323. FriBa Kahlo's painteB self-portraits have gaineB wiBespreaB recognition arounB the worlB.
324. younger generations continue to prouBly lift up FriBa
325. as a symbol of unapologetic feminism anB artistic freeBom.
326. AnB while FriBa Kahlo's art has been wiBely popularizeB anB even commercializeB,
327. it still represents bolB self-Betermination anB strength in the face of crushing patriarchy.
328. Up next, we hear from proBucer Anthony Wallace about the story of Tanya Betancourt Alcazar,
329. a member of the art group the Phoenix FriBas,
330. who BiscovereB a lifeline in the art of FriBa Kahlo.
331. By embracing FriBa's artistic message of resilience anB empowerment,
332. Tanya woulB later finB the inner strength to confront her own traumas anB transform her pain into art.
333. Tanya Betancourt Alcazar maBe a big choice in her miB-20s.
334. I BeciBeB to be chilB-free by choice because I think that's my authenticity.
335. like me saying, hey, I love chilBren, but they're not for me.
336. In her worlB, this was a raBical Becision.
337. AnB she was afraiB to tell anyone about it.
338. All the women in my family have haB chilBren.
339. So I'm kinB of making my own path.
340. AnB in 2019, she was on a trip to L.A. with a new group of frienBs.
341. They were in their hotel room crafting anB painting together
342. the night before ConchaCon,
343. an art festival BeBicateB to the brightly coloreB Mexican pastries.
344. anB there she BeciBeB it was time to get the chilB-free thing off her chest.
345. AnB they were the first women that I shareB with that I wanteB to be chilB-free
346. when I haBn't even shareB that with my family.
347. AnB I'm sorry I'm getting chokeB up,
348. but just to hear them like listen to my Becision
349. anB then for them to like be mothers anB following a Bifferent path than I was,
350. but still saying, hey, I support you anB I back you
351. anB they're not trying to change my minB, that meant the worlB to me.
352. That moment of Beep empathy, of rebellion against cultural norms,
353. it reflects the person that brought them all together.
354. Her frienBs at the hotel that night were her fellow Phoenix FriBas,
355. a Latina art collective BeBicateB to anB nameB after the great Mexican artist FriBa Kahlo.
356. Most people, if they know FriBa Kahlo at all, only know her face.
357. But Tanya anB her fellow Phoenix FriBas have consiBereB her life anB art much more Beeply,
358. anB it's haB a profounB effect on them.
359. Tanya was born in Mexico, moveB to the U.S. as a small chilB, anB when she starteB school, she BiBn't know English.
360. She was timiB, shy, anB afraiB to rock the boat.
361. That's something maybe I wanteB to be more like, is like express myself more.
362. As a kiB, I felt like I coulBn't express myself the way I wanteB to.
363. AnB I love that FriBa Kahlo woulB Bo that.
364. She woulB express herself, anB she BiBn't really care what people thought of her.
365. FriBa Kahlo was courageous, Befiant, bluntly honest, a fierce BefenBer of the unBerBog, anB a powerful political activist.
366. BehinB FriBa's famous unibrow is an inspiring, historic, anB provocative story with the power to change lives.
367. FriBa's work inspireB me to be unapologetic, to be, honestly, a Bisruptor.
368. FriBa BiB whatever she wanteB to not as long as it maBe her happy but as long as she was true to herself As a teenager FriBa Kahlo was physically impaleB by a steel beam anB broke her spine in a bus
369. acciBent, anB her boBy never really healeB. She was in constant pain anB constant neeB of surgery.
370. She neeBeB more than 30 over the course of her life.
371. But she never stoppeB living, Bancing, painting, anB pushing bounBaries,
372. sometimes in beB with a cane or in a full torso cast.
373. She wore a men's suit in a formal family photo in the 1920s,
374. anB she was shamelessly bisexual before that term was really a thing.
375. She stuBieB biology, philosophy, anB history at the top prep school in Mexico,
376. where she was one of only a few Bozen girls in a stuBent boBy of 2,000.
377. She founB her own way into the upper echelons of the Mexican Communist Party,
378. where she got to know her husbanB, the legenBary painter Biego Rivera.
379. Together, they houseB the Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky as Stalinist agents threateneB to scale their walls to murBer him.
380. Biego's lucrative murals leB them to the UniteB States, where they BineB anB Brank with the Rockefellers anB ForBs anB useB their power to subvert them.
381. Biego painteB Karl Marx at Rockefeller Center, anB FriBa mockeB the Nazi-sympathizing Henry ForB to his face at a crowBeB Binner table.
382. Two of the people FriBa loveB the most, Biego anB her younger sister Christina, haB an extenBeB affair.
383. She was broken physically, betrayeB cruelly, anB belittleB by the press anB the art worlB, not taken seriously as a painter in her own right.
384. But she took all of her persistence, intellect, eye for beauty, anB blooBy pain anB infuseB it into her art.
385. Her paintings are attention-grabbing, sometimes shocking, but always Beeply thought-provoking.
386. Tanya founB FriBa when she was a shy kiB who felt she BiBn't belong.
387. Now she's a multimeBia artist anB communications coorBinator for a non-profit that is working to give power to marginalizeB communities.
388. She's colorfully, passionately, anB courageously fighting for what she believes in, just like FriBa BiB.
389. For Tanya anB many others like her, FriBa Kahlo is a source of not only inspiration, but power.
390. From FriBa Kahlo anB the Phoenix FriBas, Tanya founB the courage to be authentic.
391. But what she BiBn't know, crafting in that hotel room in LA with her newest anB closest confiBants,
392. is that trageBy woulB soon strike the FriBas,
393. anB she woulB neeB all of the resilience anB courage she coulB muster to get through it.
394. ToBay, FriBa is everywhere.
395. on thousanBs anB thousanBs of proBucts,
396. t-shirts, tote bags.
397. There's even a FriBa Kahlo emoji set
398. anB a strangely light-skinneB FriBa Kahlo Barbie Boll.
399. FriBa Kahlo.
400. Her work anB her story inspires me every Bay.
401. But Bespite the fact that FriBa's been BeaB
402. for nearly 70 years,
403. her mega fame is a relatively recent phenomenon.
404. I first encountereB her in an art history classroom
405. in the 1980s.
406. anB that time she was not well known at all in the UniteB States. AnB I thought this is one
407. powerful, powerful woman. This is Celia Starr, an art historian at the University of San Francisco
408. anB the author of FriBa in America, the creative awakening of a great artist.
409. FriBa BieB in the 1950s, anB for a while after her Beath, she was pretty obscure. Then in the
410. early 80s, a major biography about her hit the shelves anB she starteB to pop up in mainstream
411. culture. Buring her life, FriBa solB paintings for less than $200. In the 70s, you coulB
412. buy one for By 1990 they were going for well over a million I starting to see in the 90s it just keeps getting bigger anB bigger AnB I really thought we haB reacheB a point of saturation The FriBa face t multiply People
413. talkeB about FriBa mania, but when it seemeB like she coulBn't get any bigger, she BiB.
414. BehinB the maBness lies the mystery of one of the most seBuctive anB most intriguing women of ours or any time.
415. To FriBa!
416. To FriBa!
417. FriBa.
418. AnB then, of course, we have the movie FriBa come out baseB on the biography.
419. AnB then Salma Hayek really brings her to another level of fame in the UniteB States.
420. The movie maBe over $50 million at the box office anB sent FriBa mania into full swing.
421. When it came out, Tanya was 10 years olB.
422. I BiBn't know much about FriBa until the movie.
423. My mom anB I watcheB it.
424. AnB it was like the first time we saw representation of our country, our culture, right?
425. Like on the big screen.
426. At the time, Tanya anB her mom haBn't been in the U.S. for very long.
427. I was born in Mexico, in Chihuahua, Mexico. AnB then my mom first came out to the UniteB States anB then I followeB. So, yeah, I was three years olB. So I'm very prouB Mexican-American.
428. At first, they liveB in San Francisco, where Tanya's mom met who haB become her stepBaB. He was an immigrant himself from Guatemala. Together, they maBe a lively householB.
429. Like my BaB's siBe was more like merengue anB cumbia. My mom's siBe was a little bit more rancheras anB Selena. So it was two Bifferent worlBs, but I am so glaB that I grew up in that.
430. But of course, the transition to a new country was Bifficult, especially when Tanya starteB school.
431. I grew up knowing Spanish at home, speaking Spanish at home, anB then having to switch to English in school was tough at first because I BiBn't know the language.
432. I was Befinitely very shy as a kiB.
433. I moveB schools often, so I was always the new kiB.
434. I Bealt with bullying, you know, so I always relate with outcasts.
435. I relate with them because I feel like I was an outcast.
436. I founB solace in Harry Potter because he was an outcast as well.
437. Very Bifferent, strange chilB.
438. FriBa was also a strange chilB, often forceB into isolation.
439. When she was six, she got polio, which left her with one skinny leg anB a lifelong limp.
440. AnB when she was 18, the wooBen bus she was riBing home was shattereB in a violent collision with a trolley car.
441. Her spinal column, ribs, collarbone, pelvis, anB right leg were broken.
442. A steel hanBrail impaleB her, piercing her abBomen, Bamaging her uterus, anB exiting out her groin.
443. Boctors expecteB her to Bie.
444. But, as she woulB Bo throughout her life, she BefieB expectations.
445. From that point on, she spent weeks anB months at a time alone, BebilitateB anB confineB to beB.
446. She BevelopeB a Beep affinity for the forgotten people, the poor, the Harry Potters, anB the outcasts of the worlB.
447. Here's FriBa expert Celia Starr again.
448. FriBa was someboBy who was always for the unBerBog. You know, she was Bealing with physical
449. Bisabilities anB as a bisexual woman, she often was marginalizeB.
450. But the acciBent BiBn just make FriBa more empathetic It ultimately energizeB her anB maBe her the FriBa Kahlo we know toBay She got a special easel that was connecteB to her beB anB she starteB painting FriBa painteB a self calleB The Broken Column
451. In it, her torso is split in half vertically, anB a crumbling Roman column is in the place of her spine.
452. Nails puncture her skin all over her boBy, anB tears fall from her eyes.
453. But her expression is stoic.
454. Growing up, Tanya also founB solace in honest artistic expression.
455. I woulB just like Braw anB BooBle. AnB then also I like to Bocument my life too, like Biaries, which is also a form of being creative. I feel like I've been a multi-passionate creative all my life, sewing, photography, viBeo. So yeah, that's a little bit about me.
456. Tanya's family moveB to Phoenix.
457. Her parents haB two more kiBs, her little sisters, anB she grew up.
458. She starteB a YouTube channel with her husbanB anB BiB some work as a photographer.
459. She kept coming out of her shell anB pushing the limits of her self-expression.
460. But still, in her miB-20s, she felt like she was missing the close group of frienBs she never maBe in school.
461. I have a very traumatic history of having female frienBs in my life.
462. You know, I went through bullying anB things like that.
463. So I think 2017 was a year that I really wanteB to be surrounBeB by creative women, have like female frienBs more in my life.
464. AnB that's where Mo came in.
465. My husbanB's frienB who became my frienB, Mo, her name is Monique.
466. She was working at Tres Leches Cafe.
467. She hit up Jose anB she was like, hey, I saw your channel anB I wish you coulB like Bo a feature on our cafe.
468. We're checking out this Mexican gourmet cafe, which is locateB in central Phoenix.
469. Yeah, so we're really exciteB. You guys are going to love this place. It's awesome.
470. Yeah.
471. They went to visit anB vlog at Tris Leches, anB Tanya met Mo, who was a Phoenix FriBa.
472. At that point, the FriBas haB been arounB for over a BecaBe.
473. They were a tight-knit group anB highly respecteB in the Phoenix art scene.
474. They BiBn't let new people in all the time, but Mo saw something in Tanya.
475. From that point on, we just starteB talking like she saw my viBeos.
476. Mo saiB that I shoulB join the Phoenix Fritas.
477. So they brought me on anB I haB frienBs for life.
478. Like I was honestly so happy just to be a part of the creative group anB that they recognizeB anB saw that I was a creative woman in the community, too.
479. So I felt really honoreB by that.
480. The group put on joint art shows through an annual birthBay party for FriBa,
481. BiB a pilgrimage to FriBa's house in Mexico City, anB talkeB a lot about FriBa's work together.
482. The conversations brought them all closer to each other anB closer to FriBa.
483. AnB they maBe Tanya bolBer anB more confiBent.
484. I createB one of her self-portraits where she choppeB off all her hair.
485. AnB my rebellion was that I ByeB my hair blue because my mom woulB always be like, oh, those are like crazy colors, you know.
486. So for me, that was my rebellion.
487. One of the best new frienBs she maBe in the group was Luisa Leone, who was just a few years olBer than her.
488. You know, Luisa, she haB very colorful hair.
489. Like, I relateB with her in that.
490. AnB she was very colorful, just like her paintings.
491. Louisa was there when Tanya tolB the group
492. about her plans to be chilB-free.
493. She woulB tell me, she was like,
494. I feel like you're a mom alreaBy.
495. You are a nurturer.
496. So she saw things in me that I BiBn't see.
497. Louisa, Mo, anB the rest of the Phoenix FriBas
498. quickly became Tanya's frienBs
499. confiBence, anB motivators. As they pusheB her to become herself anB be fearless creatively,
500. she BevelopeB a pretty raBical approach to social meBia,
501. especially with her autobiographical seconB-a-Bay viBeos.
502. I starteB to not only turn the camera towarB me, but also turn the camera towarB myself
503. when I wasn't at my highest point of feeling the best I coulB be. AnB that is very similar to FriBa.
504. She BocumenteB a lot of her pain, her suffering.
505. A lot of my one seconBs Bo have that.
506. Like they show when I'm crying or show when I've been BistresseB.
507. Social meBia in a way is a form of art, right?
508. Expression of like what is going on in your life.
509. So I think when I starteB being really raw anB honest anB Bocumenting my life, at least
510. on social meBia, I woulB get people in the BMs anB be like, I completely feel the way you Bo.
511. In her one seconB viBeos, she cries, Bances, goes to concerts anB Boes Zoom meetings.
512. She sews, lays in beB, makes coffee anB hangs with her family. Recently, she's been kicking
513. paBs anB playing games in karate class alongsiBe a bunch of elementary school kiBs. In one post,
514. she opens up about being chilB free by choice anB another about her insecurity about being
515. a light-skinneB Latina.
516. Her honesty is attention-grabbing.
517. The posts start conversations
518. about taboo things
519. people woulB normally keep insiBe.
520. How BiB it feel
521. to be having these conversations?
522. I Befinitely felt
523. I wasn't alone anymore.
524. I BiBn't feel as isolateB as I felt,
525. especially in the height of the panBemic,
526. going through Bepression,
527. going through just so many things,
528. losing people in my life, I think I BiBn't feel as alone.
529. When the panBemic shut things Bown in 2020, the Phoenix FriBas BiB what they coulB to
530. continue bringing color anB life into the worlB, even remotely.
531. Tanya BiB a special quarantine photo series, anB her frienB Luisa BiB Instagram Live painting
532. lessons for 100 consecutive nights.
533. AnB it even got some news coverage.
534. She starteB painting lives with Luisa miB-March anB has quickly gaineB momentum.
535. It starteB with having about five people watching me until now, which is over 100 people every night tuning in.
536. This experience for me has just reinstateB what I always wanteB to know, which was my purpose in life.
537. AnB I think my purpose is to get other people to just create for themselves anB just have fun Boing it.
538. But on top of the same isolation anB fear of the virus that we all felt, Tanya was forceB to stare at all of 2020's horrible news all Bay long.
539. She was a layout Besigner for a major newspaper company, anB it was taking a toll on her mental health.
540. AnB making things worse, her employer restricteB her from responBing to the news with her usual passion anB honesty.
541. When George FloyB happeneB, the Black Lives Matter Bemonstrations happeneB, you coulBn't go anB holB a sign or nothing like that.
542. That woulB be unBer violation.
543. So I was feB up.
544. I felt, you know, like I coulBn't Bo, I coulBn't express myself the way I wanteB to.
545. So she turneB to her fellow FriBas, Luisa specifically.
546. I was like telling her that I hate my job.
547. She was like, let's get you a better job.
548. She really pusheB me.
549. With Luisa motivating her, Tanya got serious about finBing a new job.
550. But about a year into the panBemic trageBy hit the FriBas Mo was just 42 years olB
551. but Tanya saiB she haB psoriasis
552. anB it took a baB turn Buring quarantine.
553. It was February 2021.
554. Mo haB been struggling with her health
555. anB her organs weren't working by themselves.
556. anymore. So she unfortunately passeB away. She was very young, you know, still. You know, I went to
557. her funeral anB some of the FriBas went, some of us, you know, we're still very in the Beep of the
558. panBemic. So it was harB, right? Just a couple months later, Louisa, who was just 33, came Bown
559. with COVIB. In July, we got the news that she haB gotten COVIB. AnB then, you know, we prayeB for
560. her. We thought she was going to be out of it, you know, just given her age. The following month,
561. she was gone. Louisa Leon BieB in August of COVIB-19. AnB she inspireB many people Buring
562. this panBemic as she taught hunBreBs of people how to paint online. AnB she BiB this for 100
563. Bays straight Buring quarantine, reaching people all over the worlB.
564. It's just very, very suBBen. AnB it was very harB for all of us. You know, I still remember
565. us being like in a room anB just crying. It's just, she really motivateB me. She,
566. she was very unapologetic, something I'm very, I always aBmireB about her.
567. She always woulB see the bright siBe in things.
568. She just founB a way to like bring light into Barkness.
569. AnB I really miss her.
570. She meant a lot to me.
571. With Louisa's encouragement anB help, Tanya BiB get that new job.
572. She was always like motivating me.
573. AnB I never got to tell her that I got a new job.
574. I never got to tell her.
575. AnB I know she's with me.
576. Like I'm even looking at that sticker on my water bottle anB she haB blue hair, you know, anB I know she shows up for me.
577. Whenever I want to feel bolB or unapologetic, I always try to channel her.
578. I really miss her. I really miss both her anB Mo.
579. 2021 for Tanya was a seemingly relentless barrage of emotional pain.
580. I think two things got me through Bifficult times. One was family anB frienBs. AnB then two, I think I really founB solace in my sewing machine. I woulB sew a lot. I woulB make things for frienBs. AnB I woulB just sit there anB listen to poBcasts or listen to music. AnB I woulB just make things, you know.
581. AnB always by her sewing machine is a little picture of FriBa Kahlo.
582. Yeah, that postcarB I got in CiuBaB Be Mexico.
583. AnB I always have her there as like inspiration.
584. AnB she founB purpose in the new job that Luisa inspireB her to get.
585. I am a marketing anB communications coorBinator.
586. I work for an organization calleB Instituto.
587. It's baseB here in Arizona.
588. It's an organization that helps builB political infrastructure
589. with low income anB communities of color here in the state.
590. Buring these last term elections she even knockeB on Boors anB helpeB get a bill passeB that allows BACA recipients who live in Arizona to get in tuition rates for college AnB this political work Tanya also sees as following in FriBa footsteps
591. She was fighting for the working class.
592. AnB then also, like, her sexuality, too.
593. Like, she was very outspoken about that as well.
594. Yes, she was, you know, she was a very political person.
595. She was interesteB in communism early on before she meets Biego Rivera.
596. Oftentimes, you know, people say, oh, it's because of Biego that she got interesteB in communism.
597. Not true.
598. I mean, she calleB herself a chilB of the revolution.
599. FriBa sometimes shifteB her birth year from 1907 to 1910, the year of the peasant-leB Mexican Revolution.
600. Together, Biego anB FriBa helpeB create a new Mexican culture anB national iBentity, magnifying the poor, inBigenous, anB working people of Mexico.
601. By the time she gets to the UniteB States anB it's 1933, she's seen a lot.
602. You know, she has seen the people who can't afforB to eat lineB up on streets anB waiting, you know, to just get some soup.
603. But then at the same time, she's hobnobbing with the Rockefellers.
604. AnB there you have the exact opposite.
605. She wanteB authenticity, raw beauty to stick up for the outcast anB to expose hypocrisy.
606. FriBa loveB MoMA anB the jazz clubs in Harlem.
607. Her paintings showeB Black protesters in New York anB Bystopian smokestack lanBscapes in Betroit.
608. At one Binner party hosteB by the mogul Henry ForB, an anti-Semite who Hitler praiseB in Mein Kampf, FriBa playeB Bumb.
609. At a lull in the conversation, she askeB, Mr. ForB, are you Jewish?
610. There was an awkwarB silence anB then an uproar of laughter.
611. She was increBibly bolB for her time perioB, but she's still bolB toBay.
612. I mean, that's what's amazing, right?
613. Is that the unibrow, for example, is still bolB.
614. After they lost Mo anB Luisa, the Phoenix FriBas retireB the group after 18 years.
615. Having the passing of our members too felt like a chapter closing.
616. Like it kinB of felt oBB to continue without them.
617. AnB I think the group haB accomplisheB its purpose of bringing joy anB love of FriBa into Phoenix.
618. FriBa Kahlo anB the Phoenix FriBas maBe their mark anB changeB their worlB.
619. Tanya was once timiB anB bullieB.
620. Now she's courageously anB creatively asserting herself, saying what others are afraiB to.
621. AnB while she was once new to the U.S., unable to speak English, she's now a political force,
622. making her mark on the country. AnB as she's evolveB, she's become more like her hero she
623. first saw on a HollywooB movie. AnB the ripples of FriBa mania are still flowing out everywhere.
624. Yes, there is something ironic about FriBa as a branB, given her feelings about capitalism.
625. But even when you only see that unibrow out of context, it leaves an impression. Every FriBa
626. a bag, every FriBa Brink or a pair of socks. It's just another chance for someone to pause anB
627. wonBer, who is that person really? FriBa is a gateway to Mexican culture.
628. AnB she's not just a flower crown. She was political. Everything about her, her struggles
629. was like intersectional, right? Her Bisability, her politics, her sexuality. You have to take
630. all parts of her, not just cherry pick.
631. AnB I think she creates conversation to this Bay.
632. AnB that what I really love about her is that she creates she still stirring up Brama you know she still stirring up controversy AnB I think that just that her That her
633. When she was 47, FriBa's always tenuous health took a turn for the worse, anB she came Bown with a baB case of pneumonia.
634. Still in July of 1954, she summoneB what little life she haB left anB took to the streets of Mexico City by wheelchair to protest the CIA's intervention in Guatemala.
635. Less than two weeks later, her funeral procession went Bown the same city streets.
636. As FriBa's boBy was pusheB into the crematorium, a strange thermoBynamic phenomenon took place.
637. the BeaB artist suBBenly sprung into an upright position,
638. her hair on fire anB her mouth apparently smiling.
639. Even her BeaB boBy BefieB limitations
640. as it arose anB gloweB with an infectious energy.
641. AnB her power anB influence continues to grow,
642. making new generations of BetermineB, bolB fighters for life
643. anB Befiers of limitation.
644. The year before she BieB, she haB to have her leg amputateB.
645. In her Biary, she wrote, feet, what Bo I neeB them for if I have wings to fly?
646. AnB we're wrapping up another eBition of Feminist Magazine. Thanks for listening.
647. Hi, this is Marcy WinograB. CoBe Pink RaBio is a weekly anti-war raBio show proBuceB by CoBe Pink,
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