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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).
Analyse this: supporting James Bond psychologically
Dr Brendan J. Dunlop, a Principal Clinical Psychologist in the NHS, clinical lecturer and author of The Queer Mental Health Workbook, helps me analyse James Bond’s mental health experiences and suggests ways he could find some more solace.
He runs while others walk
Running probably saved my life. It’s saved Bond’s more than a few times as well. Here, I look back at his running career - which was not exactly impressive until Daniel Craig brought more metrosexual physicality to the character - and compare it with my own, which started soon after I my first viewing of Casino Royale.
The enduring appeal of Arnold's aurally androgynous Bond scores
No one integrates the masculine and feminine qualities of James Bond into the music as well as David Arnold. Is that why we keep wanting him back?
Armour on or off? Why Tom Ford is the perfect fit for James Bond
Versace, Cardin, McQueen, Calvin Klein… the Bond series has been associated with many of the world’s most famous queer fashion designers. But there is no more perfect fit for Daniel Craig’s Bond than Tom Ford.
James Bond: Muscle Mary
The lines between ‘gay’ and ‘straight’ fashion are more blurred than ever, in part thanks to James Bond. Nevertheless, stereotypical assumptions about the clothing we choose to wear still persist. Craig’s Bond carries off a classic ‘gay look’ down to a (very tightly fitted) tee.
Queer re-view: Quantum of Solace
An unsettling and emotionally truthful queer parable, the direct continuation of Casino Royale teaches us that finding ourselves is a painful ongoing process, not a one off event. The film delivers its lesson like a brick through a plate glass window. Cutting quickly (too quickly for many) and deeply (Octopussy this ain't!), most of the svelte running time is a setup for a showdown with Bond's most persistent and insidious enemy: himself.
Kim Sherwood's A Spy Like Me had its official launch on Saturday 27th April at Dukes Hotel in London. It was my pleasure to be not only an organiser but also the emcee for the evening. The centrepiece of the event was a conversation between Kim and me with a follow-up Q&A. You can listen to a recording of that here!