Vengeance, Power and Dior: How Frida Kahlo, Evita Peron and Carmen Miranda Used Beauty Work to Become Immortal

Authors

Elizabeth Gackstetter Nichols, Drury University

Files

Description

Frida Kahlo, Evita Peron, and Carmen Miranda are icons of beauty, power, and influence in the Americas. Living in the same post-war moment, each used the power of their appearance to gain both personal and political goals. In this talk I'll discuss my book-in-progress, a work that tells the story of how each of these women intentionally and deliberately leveraged their beauty, and their beauty work, to find success against the odds, and against a wide array of societal pressures. Dr. Elizabeth Gackstetter Nichols is a Professor of Spanish and Gender Studies at Drury University. She specializes in the area of Women and Gender Studies with current research interests in Latin American and International Beauty Practices, Cosplay, and Popular Culture. Dr. Nichols is the author of a variety of books, articles and encyclopedia entries in her research fields, including Popular Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, Beauty, Virtue, Honor, and Success in Venezuela 1850-2015, and Beauty Around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Dr. Nichols’ current investigations focus on the beauty work of women such as Evita Perón, Carmen Miranda, and Frida Kahlo as well as the international practice of cosplay in the Americas. She is a cosplayer herself, a cosplay mom, and an advocate for fan-led artistic creativity. She blogs at www.cosplaymom.com.

Publication Date

Winter 3-3-2022

Keywords

Beauty work, pop-culture

Disciplines

Latin American Languages and Societies

Recommended Citation

Nichols, Elizabeth Gackstetter. "Vengeance, Power and Dior: How Frida Kahlo, Evita Peron and Carmen Miranda Used Beauty Work to Become Immortal." (2022). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/laii_events/106