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Licence To Queer covers queer aspects of Bond books, video games and more. Search here for your favourite titles and characters or find content related to particular queer identities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, etc).
Does your Martini leave you 'shook’?
Is there ever a good reason to shake a Martini? Bond only does it to disguise his fragile masculinity. Here’s how to make a beautifully clear Martini which shows you have nothing to hide…
Queer re-view: Licence To Kill
Dalton’s second and final adventure has a fated bromance driving its Shakespearean rampage of revenge, with a cold-hearted hero, a warm-blooded villain and a very capable girl with a disdain for feminine clothing. And what IS going on with that Felix Leiter cigarette lighter?
My video game crush on Xenia Onatopp
In this love letter to GoldenEye’s Xenia Onatopp, I explore what my obsession with playing as her in the classic Nintendo 64 version reveals about me, as well as what the research says about the choices we make in video games.
The Gay Man With The Golden Gun
Returning the Bond novels as an adult, I am struck by how much of an influence these, perhaps even more than the films, had on my teenage self. If anything, they invite queer readings as readily as Scaramanga inviting 007 to join him for a long weekend.
"What makes you think it's my first time?"
If this is your first visit to LicenceToQueer.com, I recommend you skim your eyes over this page first. In the grand tradition of a monologuing Bond villain, allow me to explain my plan…
Queer re-view: Casino Royale
Daniel Craig’s sophisticated first outing as Bond is also the film where he comes out of the ocean wearing small blue trunks and ‘comes out’ in an even more significant way
How queer is James Bond?
Bond’s response to his interrogation at the hands of Silva in Skyfall only confirmed what many of us had known for years: Bond is a bit gay. Maybe more than a bit.
Queer re-view: Diamonds Are Forever
In Sean Connery’s final, official turn as Bond he gets stuck into the seedy underbellies of Amsterdam, Las Vegas and, er, an oil rig off the coast of California. Along the way, he picks up an interesting Case, gets into Plenty of action and courts the attention of a pair of ‘problematic’ gay hit men. Oh, and Blofeld is back. In drag.
Brosnan’s opening mission ends with the death of his best buddy. But unbeknowst to him, the object of his bromantic affections isn’t really deceased: he’s just watching from the shadows. Will Bond manage to stay Onatopp of things? Will he leave it up to a Russian computer programmer to save the day while he runs off to have a messy break up with his best mate? And will we ever get to the bottom of why 007 spends so much time hanging around in men’s bathrooms?