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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).
Look what the cat dragged in: is the world ready for a more feline James Bond?
More than shifting his gender or sexual orientation, surely the boldest way to reinvent Bond would be to make him care for something other than himself. A cat, perhaps? After looking back over 70 years of books and films, I’m convinced the idea has legs (four of them).
“Diana Rigg helped me realise I wasn’t straight.”
An award-nominated voice actor and filmmaker, Kathryn Vinclaire is also a massive Bond fan who identifies as bisexual. Like many of us - even gay-identifying men like me - she has a “massive crush” on Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. We discuss her Tracy Bond awakening moment and why the world of Bond is such an open space for queer people like us.
Top Gun Maverick
In this podcast, David and Antony rev up their engines, listen to her howlin' roar and play with the boys, lavishing praise on the Top Gun sequel they didn't know they wanted.
Rogering for UNICEF: Mission Report
More than 90 Bond fans raised more than £2700 for Sir Roger’s beloved UNICEF. Rewatch the cocktails, the costume changes and the chaos here!
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.
James Bond is not always the best role model for staying mentally healthy. When faced with battles in his own brain, he’s far likelier to slip into avoidance behaviours (martinis, girls, guns) than deal with them head on. Even so, within the pages of the original Fleming’s books, we find that Bond’s creator was ahead of his time: he was not only interested in the treatment of mental difficulties, but also armed 007 with a coping technique recommended by professionals today.