The Accidental Feminist

The Accidental Feminist: HowElizabeth Taylor Raised Our Our Consciousness and We Were Too Distracted by Her Beauty to Notice by M.G. Lord

214 pages

Pub. Date:  January 31, 2012 – Walker & Company

   I have always been a big fan of Elizabeth Taylor. I am fascinated with not only her movies, but her personal life. So when I stumbled upon a new biography of Ms. Taylor by M.G. Lord that I have not heard of, I was interested to see what else could be written about Elizabeth Taylor. The title, The Accidental Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Consciousness and We Were Too Distracted by Her Beauty to Notice, intrigued me. I immediately checked it out and moved it to the top of my To-Be-Read pile.

   After reading The Accidental Feminist, I realized that basically Lord had written, what felt like in my opinion, a thesis on the movie portrayals of Elizabeth Taylor and how those characters possessed feminist characteristics. She would sprinkle in tidbits of Taylor’s infamous life, but mostly the book was a critique of her movie roles. This quick read caters to those who are already familiar with Taylor’s life.

   I wish Lord would have included more of Taylor’s later philanthropic works with AIDS foundations. She does include some information about this period in Taylor’s life but the book drops off, for the most part, after Taylor’s movie roles slow down. I would recommend this book to other fans of Taylor’s who aren’t necessarily looking for a new biography of Taylor’s life, but more of a critique of her work.