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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).
For Her Majesty’s (Not So) Secret Service
A new cocktail for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Whether served in a glass or a hip flask, it’s delicious ma’am!
Book Review: With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz
Horowitz’s title is more than a snappy, idiomatic-sounding, Fleming-esque selection: it signals his intent to lay bare the mental workings of Bond. Will we like what we find?
Rogering for UNICEF - Friday 3rd June
Join us in raising money for Sir Rog’s beloved UNICEF as we watch all 7 of his 007 films back to back during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend. Here’s everything you need to know…
Nobody Dubonnets It Better
The Queen's favourite cocktail is a Gin and Dubonnet. Ahead of the Platinum Jubilee, we've added a (Kir) Royale touch by adding a wash of crème de cassis. Serve with a lemon twist and a partially submersed Lotus Esprit.
Queer re-view: The Spy Who Loved Me
Queer pride and national pride rarely go hand in hand, so why does everybody love The Spy Who Loved Me? Bond has always embodied his nation and this film in particular – released in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year – puts both Bond and Britain on top, in more ways than one. This cinematic male power fantasy should send running any viewers who don’t identify with ‘harder’ versions of masculinity, especially those which are intertwined with a hardline loyalty to country. But there’s something about Roger’s third entry that makes all of us, including queens and the Queen herself, just keep coming.
Join the fun movement!
What’s not to love about a film featuring no fewer than seven James Bonds?! On the Spy Hards podcast, Alan J. Porter (The James Bond Lexicon) and Licence To Queer’s David do their best to defend the honour of this unique and fascinating slice of Bond history; a film which is no less ‘official’ than the entries in the Eon canon.
Heartstopper
In a bit of a departure from Bond, Sam and David discuss why the joyful Netflix smash hit Heartstopper is a milestone in queer culture and why EVERYONE needs to watch it.
Spectre-al Visions: Queers, Horrors and Bond
Waking up to a golden cadaver; witnessing an astronaut suffocate in space; watching a woman be torn apart by dogs; wincing as a man’s head decompresses… the world of Bond has given many of us nightmares. Perhaps it’s this transgressiveness which makes both Bond and horror films such good (death)bed mates. Callum McKelvie investigates.
A licence to wear PINK!
Daniel Craig turned heads when he turned up to the No Time To Die premiere wearing a shocking-pink jacket. A statement piece in more ways than one, it was widely hailed as a break with Bond tradition. But the more we look, the more we find that this is hardly Bond’s first time wearing the most ‘feminine’ of shades.
‘What DO you do?’ Asexual coding in the James Bond universe
“It might sound strange for an asexual person to be a Bond fan, given that sexual attraction is such a big part of the character’s world…” Fenna Geelhoed sets asexual representation in her sights and targets the best and worst examples from the Bond series.
This happened to another fella
Bond asking Tracy to marry him is one of the most rapturously romantic scenes in cinema history. Its modesty and gender equality subvert what we expect from a traditional marriage proposal. Without me realising until now, I think it may have influenced my own…
While we enjoyed Season 1 for what it was, there was definitely a lot of untapped potential. How far does Season 2 succeed in making us excited about ‘everyday people’ being thrown into the world of James Bond?