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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: Thunderball
SPECTRE may have stolen two nuclear bombs but stealing their thunder (and the audience’s attention) is Bond being roughly manhandled (and womanhandled) up and down the gender spectrum. Gender is more fluid than ever in this most aquatic of adventures and the 'fairer sex', sick of having less, are giving at least as good as they get.
Keeping the camp end up! A chat with Paul Baker
Paul Baker is the author of the bestselling book 'CAMP! The Story of the Attitude that Conquered the World'. Not only is it fabulously funny but it also successfully captures what camp is all about (not a mean feat!) using plenty o’ examples. There's only one problem: there's no way Paul could include everyone's favourite examples and one of the most camp things of all time - James Bond - didn't make it into the book. David and Paul meet to put Bond under the camp spotlight.
'Somewhat fishy': the deeply strange scripts for The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the most balanced Bond films, with a finely calibrated blend of all we love about Bond. But the film we ended up with went through dozens of iterations, many containing thoroughly unhinged ideas. Tom Mason and David Lowbridge-Ellis have read every screen treatment and script they can get their hands on - two years' worth! - and are now ready to share what they've found. Batten down the hatches for seal sex, crash zooms, a villain called Kronk, Anya's brother-lover, testicular torture and a very temperamental Lotus Esprit…
Double or Nothing
Kim Sherwood’s novel promised to blow the world of Bond wide open and it more than delivered. Here’s where you can find Licence to Queer’s extensive coverage all in one place, including our review, a detailed discussion with Kim herself, an article about the book’s queer representation, a cocktail recipe and more.
Our Month in Bond
There’s no such thing as a quiet month when you’re a James Bond fan. And July was certainly no exception.
Travelling with James Bond
Kim Sherwood and David Lowbridge-Ellis talk with a live audience about all things travel and 007. How much is travel is responsible for the success of the books and films? Why do we have the urge to make pilgrimages to Bond locations? What can we learn from Bond about how to travel (and how not to)?
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
On the drive back from seeing the latest Mission: Impossible in the cinema (not handcuffed together), Antony and David try to not fall out with each other while discussing whether it's helpful (or not) to make comparisons with James Bond. They also talk about the queer elements, the Hitchcock influences and the really really cool bit where *spoilers*.
Our Month in Bond
This month was a busy one! Highlights included plenty of Prides, On The Tracks at the Nene Valley Railway, a visit to Ian Fleming Publications and David receiving an MBE in King Charles's Birthday Honours. Talk about keeping the British end up!
A Wild & True Conversation
Kim Sherwood's 'A Wild & True Relation' is an amazingly queer book. For Pride Month 2023, David Lowbridge-Ellis gets truthful with the Bond author about her 18th Century-set swashbuckler, examining how and why she created such a moving and rollicking tale of self-determination, freedom of sexual orientation, chosen family and defied gender expectations.
On His Majesty’s Secret Service: Declassified
David Lowbridge-Ellis delves deeply into all aspects of On His Majesty’s Secret Service with its author, Charlie Higson. No topic is off limits. David and Charlie get stuck into the core of the thrilling story, exploring the real life inspirations for the villain and his dastardly plot. They also tackle the really important questions, such as: should we trust someone if they have a six pack which is “ridged like a Toblerone”? What was the inspiration for giving Bond a ‘friend with benefits’? What kind of underpants does 007 wear? And, perhaps most pressingly of all, why might eating fermented foods make one ‘woke’?
‘Donate Another Day’: our 2023 UNICEF fundraiser
Last year, more than 90 Bond fans raised over £2700 in a single day for Roger Moore’s beloved UNICEF. This year, we’re raising money for the charity by uniting around our love for the Bond films of another UNICEF ambassador: Pierce Brosnan. Here’s everything you need to know.
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? Lifelong insomniac David Lowbridge-Ellis gets 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.