How queer is GoldenEye?
David Lowbridge-Ellis reads his original essay exploring the queer qualities of the films' villains, the girls, the allies and, of course, Bond himself.
"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?"
Bond and politics don’t mix. So why, when Bond himself resists being drawn far along either end of the political spectrum, do both sides persist in wielding poor 007 like a blunt instrument?
Original article: https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/no-time-to-be-discussing-politics
‘James Bond is what every man would like to be and what every woman would like between her sheets’. Over six decades, this assertion has become received wisdom. But it turns out we’ve been lied to the whole time…
David Lowbridge-Ellis MBE reads his article, which you can read the original of here:
https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/to-be-bond-or-to-bed-him
“The films were my therapeutic outlet. Even now, if I’m having a bad day, or gearing up for a bad day, I’ll wear that Bond t-shirt under my shirt, or Bond socks. A little bit of something that reminds me of who I am or who I want to be. Bond connects you to something.”
We often think of Bond as someone who can move through the world effortlessly, fitting in wherever he goes. But the more we look, the more we find he’s someone who - like many of us - feels a disconnect with the world around him. And yet, Bond is also someone who can help us feel like we belong.
David first got to know Craig he was seeking to find a home for his emotionally raw article about the divisive reaction to No Time To Die - and what it meant for him personally.
https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/no-crying-shame
This article touched on elements of his childhood, which he unpacks in detail for the first time here…
When he was nine years old, Craig Gent found himself living in a refuge for families experiencing domestic violence. Out of necessity, he had to grow up pretty quickly. Cut off from his previous life, he formed a deep connection with Bond through watching the films over and over again on VHS tapes.
As an adult, Craig’s love for Bond has not abated, although it’s faced some challenges over the years. Craig hates it when people attempt to apply reductive labels to Bond - ‘sexist’ ‘nationalistic’ ‘heterosexist’. Bond is simply more complex than that - and more interesting.
David and Craig debate the extent to which Bond can be considered an insider or an outsider; a figure of the Establishment or someone who is anti-Establishment. Ultimately, Craig argues, Bond works best when he’s irreverent, showing a comforting lack of respect for people in authority and the institutions they represent.
Craig Gent is the co-host of the Heart Reacts podcast: https://shows.acast.com/heart-reacts
He is the author of the book Cyberboss: The Rise of Algorithmic Management and the New Struggle for Control at Work (Versio Books, 2024)
Craig has also authored another brilliant piece for Licence to Queer about the toys and the formative effects they have on us:
“James Bond was always something I could escape to. If I was feeling down, I would put on a Bond, and that would sort me out mentally. No Time To Die is the only time Bond has negatively affected my mental health.” - Timothy Russenberger
How much of an influence do the fictional characters we admire have on our mental wellbeing? Stories can be particularly powerful - positively or negatively - when we’re feeling emotional vulnerable.
Upfront, Tim - who is an actor by profession - shares his own experiences of depression and self-harm. Tim connects this with how Fleming was invested in Bond’s mental health and how this has sometimes been translated into the films, including an interesting presentation of self-harm in Skyfall.
For many of us, Bond is such a relatable hero - this can be both a positive and negative thing.
Tim is a big film buff and 2006’s Casino Royale is the film out of all the thousands he admires which has had the very positive impact on him, encouraging him to be a more outgoing person. Conversely, No Time To Die had a negative impact on his own mental health.
And what about the Bonds beyond Craig? Can they help us eliminate problems in our own life?
Find Timothy on Instagram: timothystyleactor and X: TimStylesActor
What if we reframed the whole of the Bond franchise as the story of a man just trying to get a good night’s rest?
For some reason, no one has ever looked in any detail at Bond and sleep. So let's get under the covers with 007 to explore when he sleeps, if he’s really the early riser he claims to be (!) and why we should be concerned about his dreams.
Read the original article here: https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/whats-keeping-you-awake-james-bonds-battles-with-sleep
Michael Gillette’s art is nothing short of beloved by Bond fans. In 2008, he created a set of 15 instantly iconic covers for the Fleming centenary editions of the novels. Since then, he has also produced covers for continuation books. In October 2024, he releases his highly conceptual and utterly gorgeous covers for the new hardback editions of the Fleming originals. The project has been gestating for six years! Michael tells the full story here for the first time. Michael also shares how it feels to be such an integral part of what he calls 'the Bondiverse', relates his own Bond beginnings (including his experiences of reading Fleming for the first time) and how his work has been influenced by the places he’s lived, the music he loves and the Bond cover artists who came before him.
The episode’s title is a quote from Quantum of Solace, specifically the scene where Mathis attempts to get to the bottom of Bond’s sleep problems. In the Bond films we don’t see our hero getting healthy, natural sleep all that often. Perhaps because, as Hitchcock famously asserted, ‘drama is life with the dull bits cut out’, we’re supposed to assume Bond sleeps like a normal human being when we’re not looking. On the occasions where we do see Bond waking up, it’s usually because he’s been drugged or knocked unconscious. But this is a different story in the books. David has gone back through Fleming’s 14 Bond books and found there are more than 400 direct references to sleep - that’s more than 30 per book! Might this suggest that Fleming himself had an interesting relationship with sleep that he transposed into his character? There are definite patterns across the books, which David guides us through here, highlighting particularly intriguing examples from Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, From Russia, With Love and Thunderball. Is there anything from the Bond films and the Fleming books we can use to help us address our own sleep problems? Both Alex and David have wrestled with sleep issues their entire lives, including experiencing prolonged periods of insomnia. But there are differences… Alex is a night owl, an evening person, someone who has no issue being wide awake really late at night. David is the opposite, a lark, who is mentally and physically most alert early in the morning. Although neither Alex nor David are sleep scientists (and sleep science as an academic discipline is still very new!), both have put in a lot of effort to resolving their sleep issues, including reading some of the same books - sometimes with different results! Here, both talk through the approaches they’ve tried and tested over the years and reveal how they have reframed their relationships with sleep. Sleep hygiene is key for both of them. How does alcohol, caffeine and what we do in the hour before bed make a difference? Alex and David also tackle: Why is it important to know your chronotype (night owl/morning lark, etc)? How does insomnia relate to anxiety? What happens if we never sleep? (Like Gustav Graves in Die Another Day) Should we be concerned if we don’t dream? If we experience night terrors (like Bond does in the books) how can we deal with these? What are the ups and downs of sleeping pills? (There are a lot of them in Fleming!) How do sleep rhythms differ internationally? Why is jet lag so evil? What’s the sun got to do with sleep? Why is it sometimes more difficult to sleep in hotels than home? How does Fleming’s Bond always wake up on time without an alarm clock? And what is his standard wake up time? What chronotype does that make him?
“When you focus your time and energy into the things you can change and influence, opportunities come to you and doors open that wouldn’t have been there before.” - John Able
John is a father and a writer of stories aimed at bringing children and their caregivers closer together. Earlier this year, he wrote an article about martial arts in Fleming which set off a chain of events leading to him becoming far more involved in the Bond community.
John also has a rare life-threatening heart condition. Here, he speaks openly about the feelings of grief he had after being diagnosed with the condition and how he approached making what changes he could to how he lived his life.
A lot of mental health difficulties stem from a feeling of being out of control, so we should try to focus on the things we can control. John uses two Bond films as a metaphor for how to approach the things life throws at us: we can be like Bond in Goldfinger and be the passive recipient of things happening to us or we can be like Bond in Quantum of Solace and continually adapt, creating new opportunities.
Although John speaks very candidly about his specific circumstances, he urges us to focus on the things all of us can control in all aspects of our lives.
While talking with John, David retrospectively realises he took this approach during the worst phase of his life - where negative thought patterns threatened to takeover - and it ultimately made him a much happier person.
John goes on to explain how he learned to defuse negative thoughts. It takes effort, but it’s worth it!
Finally, David and John discuss the extent to which Bond provides us with a fantasy of control.
Find John on Instagram: @writerjohnable
And check out his works on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/212Opi02PNbO64xqRRIytx?si=b8ac940c3bab4a56
“Just because someone seems happy, doesn’t mean it’s the reality of the situation. It’s good to check in and see how people are doing.” - Vinnie Harris
Vinnie Harris is an unfalteringly positive voice in the Bond community - his voice is also very deep and many of you will recognise it from his appearances on various podcasts!
As Anya Amasova tells Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me, “it’s very important to have a positive mental attitude.” This can be easier said than done however! So positive is Vinnie online that you might be surprised to learn about the challenges he has overcome and continues to battle in his everyday life. This is the first time Vinnie has opened up publicly about these and how he is learning to cope with them.
Diagnosed with autism and ADHD early in life, Vinnie talks candidly about how, like Bond, he felt like he didn’t fit in. Two decades down the line, he shares his thoughts about combatting negative self-talk, taking advice from family and friends, how it’s important to live life at your own pace and learning to own your uniqueness.
You can follow Vinnie on X @Harris94Vinnie and Instagram @mrharris00794
“It shook my foundations. I flipped from being someone that was 'Just get on with it' to a person who felt far more empathy, understanding not everyone has the tools to be able to 'Just get on with it'.” - Natasha Stone Arm yourself because no one else here will save you? It’s a brilliant song lyric, but how far does being self-reliant really help us? When is the time to call for reinforcements? And how do we find the words when social norms tell us to keep things inside, especially if we’re men? All of these questions and more get answers in this chat, which has its origins off the back of a heated Bond Book club debate. When they got together, now over a year ago, to discuss Natasha’s first reading of Fleming’s Casino Royale, David and Natasha had wildly diverging views of the character of Bond: Natasha felt Bond was too needy and ‘unmasculine’ whereas David found his vulnerability role model-worthy. With unflinching honesty, Natasha traces her ideas about masculinity back to early childhood, when she formed a fantasy of the ideal man being of the ‘Alpha’ variety. A defining moment of Natasha’s childhood was her mother - an incredibly strong woman - having a nervous breakdown. This formed her earliest ideas about mental health. Her self-created ‘inner steel’ helped steer her through very difficult times, including finding herself unexpectedly pregnant while at university. And then, two decades later, a shocking tragedy completely shook Natasha’s foundations and upended her perspective on masculinity and mental health. “Boys will smile, even when they’re in complete turmoil.” - Natasha Stone A mother of four boys and one girl, Natasha shares her insights into the importance of communication for ensuring mental wellbeing, particularly for young men. David opens up about the ways we can make a difference, using examples from his professional life as an educator. Ultimately, they agree that the key is finding a middle ground between being self-reliant and knowing when to call for support. They link everything back to Bond books and films, and specifically the song ‘You Know My Name’. Finally, they share some pearls of wisdom from Bond Girl/force of nature Martine Beswicke. Natasha mentions fundraising for mental health charity CALM, which you can find out more about here: https://www.thecalmzone.net/
John is one of the fantastic lads who make up the Really, 007! podcast. While David has been honoured to be their guest multiple times and they've got to know each other well in real life, this is the first time John and David have publicly talked just the two of them. Both men help people with problems as part of their professional lives having been motivated to do so by some of their own adverse experiences. Rarely are real life problems as easy to ‘eliminate’ as they are in the world of Bond. But that shouldn’t prevent us from trying. John was eager to come onto On Our Minds Only? and we’re so glad he did. The story of John’s mental heath journey is a gripping one - and it has the power to change lives. Both had no idea how this conversation would unfold. They start by introducing the topics of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)… and then (a bit like episodes of ‘Really, 007!’) things take off in unexpected directions… We won’t spoil it here, but instead urge you to hit PLAY and let John’s story unfold in its entirety. A sneak preview: It begins with an eleven year old John having his world view turned upside down by a viewing of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. We move on to nineteen year old John experiencing a significantly traumatic incident which was to reverberate through his whole life ever afterwards… With great vulnerability, John doesn’t hold back from sharing what happened when he hit rock bottom. But this is ultimately an incredibly hopeful story. John made a life-changing decision to devote a lot of his time to helping others, using what he’d learned about himself. Along the way, John and David relate everything back to Bond. This includes their own deeply personal takes on Licence to Kill and Skyfall. Although this episode is longer than the others in this series, you will definitely want to watch the whole thing. Let us know what you think.
The author of A Different Kind of Brave describes his novel as a “gay teen love letter to James Bond movies”, which is a pretty accurate description!
Lee Wind’s book is a ludicrously exciting and romantic action adventure story with all of the Bond ingredients - but with two gay protagonists, one of who filters his whole life through his beloved Bond movies, which is definitely something many of us can relate to.
For many readers - young adult or older - reading this novel will be an intensely validating experience. I devoured it in one sitting, propelled by the narrative and characters. What I did not expect to happen was to find myself at the end sobbing tears of queer joy.
The day after reading A Different Kind of Brave, I chatted with Lee about his own history with Bond (the book is crammed with 007 detail!) and what motivates him to writes books which have the potential to change lives.
One of my own motivations for chatting with Lee was to find out how we could get as many people as possible to get hold of a copy of A Different Kind of Brave.
You can pickup the paperback from all online retailers. But Lee has also created a really Kickstarter for the hardback. For everyone who pledges for a gorgeous hardback edition of the book the publisher will give a paperback copy to queer youth!
You can find out more here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leewind/exclusive-collectors-hardcover-of-a-different-kind-of-brave
David chats with Thomas Gilbert, the illustrator of the new edition of Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, released to celebrate the book's 60th anniversary. Although this is the first book Thomas has illustrated, you will likely be familiar with his work in other fields. He is not only a highly accomplished artist who turned to making Bond posters at the start of the Covid lockdowns (Instagram @gilbert_posters) but he also designs cars for a living!
Fleming originally commissioned his automotive engineer friend Amherst Villiers (namechecked in the early Bond books) to draw Chitty but his rendering was never used. So this edition marks the first time an actual car designer has illustrated the book!
Thomas's dynamic artwork perfectly complements Fleming's vivacious prose and brings us a Chitty quite unlike anything we've had before. Here, he takes us behind the scenes, explaining his process from start to finish, showing us how he decided what to illustrate and how he did it. We get to see the early work Thomas did for the book, months before it became the finished article. Along the way, Thomas and David discuss the various influences on the book's art, which include film noir, a classic 80s movie and a Fleming Bond novel - Thomas's favourite Bond novel in fact.
Thomas and David also talk about where their creative sparks come from and why it's a good idea to say 'Yes!' to adventures which take you out of your comfort zone!
Following Thomas on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/gilbert_posters/
“At the core of a lot of depression is feeling like you don't have any meaning.” - David Zaritsky
David Zaritsky and David Lowbridge-Ellis candidly explore the dark side and light side of relevancy within the Bond community. (Yes, there are also Star Wars references.)
When we feel relevant, we get a natural hit of dopamine. But this can become dangerously addictive; creating content with the sole goal of gaining followers and likes can wreak havoc on our mental health.
David Z gets personal about how he has lost friends because they could not stop comparing their own relevance with other people’s. David L-E reveals how he strives to find meaning in himself, rather than by seeking affirmation from others.
This is a very personal conversation in which both Davids discuss how to navigate this tricky territory. The hope is that by sharing it publicly they will help others.
As David Z says here, when it comes to mental health, “There’s a real need to understand the why of what is happening.”
It’s tribal. Although some talk about the Bond Community as if it’s a place where everyone agrees with each other, in reality it consists of many subgroups. And while most Bond fans are positive voices, bringing diverse points of view and supporting others with positive affirmation, a few sadly pursue relevancy by propagating negativity, attempting to tear down those who they are jealous of.
The Davids hone in on their shared why: if it’s not followers and likes, what does motivate them to continue doing what they do?
Finally, David Z has some very practical advice for people who might be struggling with the issues raised in this video.
About the ‘On Our Minds Only?’ series:
Mental health is not discussed enough, despite it being an important element of the 007 stories. In this series, David talks very openly about mental health with members of the Bond community. He has a theory: these are the sorts of things on many of our minds but we often struggle to put them into words. Maybe we can change that?
Anyone who has seen Alex’s amazing YouTube knows that he always says yes to adventures! If something scares him, he follows Bond’s example and overcomes his fear by going and doing it. But as a child, he was not so confident. Alex has battled anxiety his whole life. He recognises that this is, in part, rooted in something James Bond is certainly no stranger to: childhood trauma. Between the ages of nine to twelve, Alex experienced a lot of violence. He was also extensively bullied at school and humiliated by teachers. Nevertheless, he refused to give in to the abuse and fought his way out - quite literally to begin with! Alex speaks very openly about his specific circumstances before sharing the coping strategies he has developed over the years. As Alex says, “Learning to cope takes time, practice and vigilance.” Alex shares what he has learned on his mental health journey so far. Both Alex and David are teachers, so expect this to be educational as well as entertaining. Alex unpicks the misconception of martial arts being as violent and gives David a live lesson in meditation. This conversation covers a lot of ground, including suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. They also touch on other aspects of mental health, including insomnia. Let us know if you would like more about this topic in a future episode with Alex and David! Follow Alex on Instagram @sifu_lamas Watch Alex’s adventures at: / @yestoadventure007 About the ‘On Our Minds Only?’ series: Mental health is not discussed enough, despite it being an important element of the 007 stories. In this series, David talks very openly about mental health with members of the Bond community. He has a theory: these are the sorts of things on many of our minds but we often struggle to put them into words. Maybe we can change that?
Mental health is not discussed enough, despite it being an important element of the 007 stories. In this series, David talks very openly about mental health with members of the Bond community. He has a theory: these are the sorts of things on many of our minds but we often struggle to put them into words. Maybe we can change that? Here, David talks with Blake Powers ( @BondLifeChicago ) about hypervigilance. As a first responder in the Police, Blake is the ideal person to guide us through what it's like to be in an elevated state of constantly assessing potential threats. Blake can certainly relate to Bond in this regard and has written a brilliant article about this in which he insightfully makes many links with Bond's behaviour in the books and films. David and Blake focus in particular on the film of Quantum of Solace and Fleming's Thunderball. Together they explore: What impact does hypervigilance have on the brain and body? What should you do when you go 'off duty' and find yourself slipping into a depression-like state? How do we avoid using coping strategies which are bad for us? How much should we follow the example set by Bond? Read Blake's article here: https://spygestmag.com/posts/the-melancholy-spy/ If you are interested in appearing on a future episode of 'On Our Minds Only?' then please get in touch.
Kim Sherwood's A Spy Like Me had its official launch on Saturday 27th April at Dukes Hotel in London.
The event was a collaboration between 007GB - The British James Bond Fan Club, Ian Fleming Publications Limited and Harper Collins. 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. This is a recording of that. I hope you enjoy it.
More about the book
A Spy Like Me is the second novel in the Double O trilogy, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Double or Nothing. A Spy Like Me is even more tense than its predecessor. It’s both an addictively readable thriller and a work of great Literature.
How Kim achieved such a magnificent feat was explored at the launch, with David Lowbridge-Ellis MBE hosting the evening, conversing with Kim and taking questions from the audience.
Check out David's review of the book here: https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/book-review-a-spy-like-me
Watch David and Kim discussing other aspects of the novel in this series of Classified Chats:
https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/classified-chats-with-kim-sherwood
More about the launch event
The launch was a collaboration between 007GB - The British James Bond Fan Club, Ian Fleming Publications Limited and Harper Collins – the first time anything like this has happened.
We chose to have it at Dukes Hotel for reasons obvious to any Fleming fan; it’s practically a site of pilgrimage for us (Bond’s creator loved to drink at the sensational bar) and it has long associations with the character of 007.
Compared with a regular book launch, there was a more intimate, familial atmosphere. This was something we had planned for as soon as we were asked by Ian Fleming Publications and Harper Collins to collaborate with them. It’s unusual to have a book launch on a weekend, but having it on a Saturday meant it could be a more relaxed and convivial affair. It also meant more members from across the country could make it to London for the event. Some of our overseas members were also able to attend and it was lovely to have them there.
The evening began with a sumptuous wine reception and continued long after the official finish time. Representatives from the Fleming family, Ian Fleming Publications and Harper Collins mingled with club members, Kim’s family and invited guests. Fellow Bond author Charlie Higson was also in attendance; he asked a deliciously tongue in cheek question about the third book, which will be released in 2025. You can hear this - and all of the other questions - in this podcast.
On their most recent trip to Tokyo, David and Antony really didn’t expect to find themselves in a lesbian bar themed around James Bond. Nor could they quite believe it when the owner herself was up for being interviewed about her Bond fandom and how ‘women only’ carries a different meaning in Japanese culture.
This interview was originally included in a podcast covering our whole trip to Japan, which you can find here:
Well, they can't all be winners, eh?
Antony and David dive into the second Warren Ellis/Jason Masters' "caper" Eidolon, which deals with dirty money and even dirtier duties as James and Tanner, er, torture a suspect by removing his skin (?!) to prevent the rise of a neo-SPECTRE.
Listen to what the couple thought, along with thoughts from LTQ listener, on 2016's Eidolon from Dynamite Entertainment.