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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).
Queer re-view: Skyfall
If Dorothy in the The Wizard of Oz is to be believed, there's no place like home. But what if that home is Skyfall? In his 50th anniversary queer odyssey, 00-Dorothy doesn’t just kick back against traditional notions of home and family; along the way he creates a unconventional family to replace the one he lost and blows up his childhood abode with dynamite. Talk about cathartic!
That or the priesthood: Bond’s queer calling
In the world of Bond, religion is often portrayed as being as hollow as a diamond smuggler’s Bible. But questioning an institution does not necessarily preclude believing in it. Queer Christian Kathleen Jowitt uncovers deep connections between religion and 007, revealing that a monk and a hitman might have more in common that we might think.
Queer re-view: Casino Royale (1967)
Have no fear, James Bonds (plural) are here! Far from a ‘straight’ take on a Bond story, the ‘67 Casino Royale is much maligned. But in many ways, it’s well ahead of its time. Whether by accident or design, it’s a experience which is not merely open to queer readings, but warmly welcomes them in. Leave at the door your pre-conceptions about what ‘James Bond’ is or isn’t and prepare to join what the original trailers called “the Casino Royale fun movement”.
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?