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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).

Sam Rogers Sam Rogers

Salud! The end of an era!

In the time between Spectre and No Time To Die coming out, a lot has happened. For Sam Rogers, this included his own coming out. Here he reflects on what the film means to him as a gay man and a Bond fan in general.

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David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

Book Review: Fashioning James Bond by Dr Llewella Chapman

This indispensable book opens up the closet on six decades of Bond clothing. Like Bond with his fashion choices, Dr Chapman bends the rules, refusing to confine herself to a single gender. For once, it’s not merely the men’s garments garnering all of the attention.

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David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

“I'm going to tell you a story about a man. His name is Bond, James Bond.”

Given recent onscreen events, how could an uncle could resist introducing his five year old niece to James Bond? We only managed 15 minutes of Octopussy before the cats provided a sweeter distraction. Even so, the pre-title sequence left her wanting more of Moore, so we'll try again in another year or two.

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Kathleen Jowitt Kathleen Jowitt

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.

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Craig Gent Craig Gent

No Crying Shame

No Time To Die has prompted discussion about what is and isn't "Bond", and has provoked emotional responses from fans and sceptics alike. In this unflinchingly honest and beautiful piece, Craig Gent reflects on his childhood relationship to 007 and how Daniel Craig's final bow has given him the Bond he longed for all along.

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David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

I wanna take Craig to a gay bar - here’s why

How are we supposed to feel about Daniel Craig’s ‘revelation’ that he prefers gay bars to straight equivalents? Why are some appalled while others are applauding? Why is this even a story anymore?

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David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

No Time To Die ‘off the cuff’

No Time To Die is a deeply, magnificently queer film, so it will take me some time to pull together my thoughts and polish them into a queer re-view. However, this is the rough first draft - in podcast form.

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David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

LGBT: Lesbians and Gays Bond Together

Watching a double bill of Casino Royale and A View To A Kill with married couple Han (who had never seen a Bond film) and Maz (who loved Bond as a child but was bullied into not liking it at school) was like seeing both films for the first time all over again. Listen in as two same sex couples banter about Bond with themed drinks along the way.

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David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

4 Bond Blondes

Daniel Craig was vilified before he’d even stepped foot on the set of Casino Royale, with much of the opprobrium targeted at his distinctly un-Bondian, unmasculine blonde hair. Some said they couldn’t see him as the hero, but they would buy him as the villain. Here are four blonde Bond villains who helped to create the cinematic stereotype of blonde men as Other.

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