Licence To Queer

With six articles (and counting) to Sam Rogers' name, exploring a range of subjects (from Bond Girls to Bond video games) I was keen to discuss with Sam if he'd had more thoughts about these subjects in a post- No Time To Die world. We talk about this and much much more, including finding your queer Bond fan tribe and which Sugababes track would make the best Bond song.

Matt Carter’s first film as a 22 year old director was a gay James Bond film. His soon-to-be-released second feature is a love story between two rugby players, based on his personal experiences. I spoke with him about what draws him to stories set in stereotypically hypermasculine, straight male contexts and how gay cinema needs to move beyond coming out stories. After seeing Jayson Bend for the f...

Growing up in rural France, Jill created a James Bond persona to try to process his gender dysphoria. Now out as a trans gay man, living and working in London, Jill attended the premiere of No Time To Die and has been processing his feelings about the film ever since. We talked about why James Bond means so much to us as queer people, why we see things others overlook and how our partners accommod...

Susan Sontag would have loved this film.

The Proustian origins of Madeleine Swann.

This might not sound like the most original insight, but there’s something not quite right with Lyutsifer Safin. And why is Obruchev giving us Nazi vibes?

007’s recent adventures have placed him at the centre of an ever-expanding ‘found family’ . That is, ‘Individuals who are not biologically or legally related who deliberately choose to support and nurture each other like family.’ (Definition from The Queens’ English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Expressions ).

James Bond is dead! But only in a literal sense. With classical parallels aplenty, No Time To Die secures Bond’s place in the pantheon of queer heroes, making a myth out of 007 by turning him into a being we recognise as human - whoever we might be. This is the podcast version of an article published on www.licencetoqueer.com

This is my pure, unadulterated 'off the cuff' take on No Time To Die, 24 hours after seeing it for the first time. The first segment (14 minutes) is completely spoiler free: although I usually keep my opinions to myself, this time I give them free reign. And then I get stuck into no-holds-barred spoiler territory (don't worry - it's very clearly signposted so you will know when to stop listening)....

The line didn’t exist in the earlier drafts of Casino Royale. Is it just a throwaway quip or something more revealing of Felix’s character? After exploring the changes to the script of Casino Royale and the queer connotations of fruits and vegetables (it all makes sense, I promise!) we dig into a short history of gin and how it has fallen out of favour and back in again.

Two days before the world premiere of No Time To Die, big UK broadcaster ITV chose Diamonds Are Forever as their Sunday afternoon film, one of my favourites of the series. Could I resist watching it on TV even though I had several copies on Blu Ray and DVD? Of course I couldn't! And despite me giving no warning about it, neither could many of you, including the following lovely folks on Twitter: @...

Watching a double bill of Casino Royale and A View To A Kill with married couple Han (who 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. For more on the drinks we had, check out https://www.lice...

I’ve yet to find anyone who thinks having Noël Coward playing Dr. No would have been even a vaguely good idea, and that included the man himself. So what did Ian Fleming see in Coward - friend, neighbour, best man, godfather to his son - which the rest of us have missed?

Was the humour intentional or not? Does it matter? After a discussion of the Camp aspects of Dr. No, I have a go at coming up with a score (out of 007) to rank it - purely in terms of queerness - in relation to the other Bond films. Finally, some post re-view reflections on why people get worked up about the gender binary, an excerpt from a brilliant book by Meg-John Barker and Alex Iantaffi (link...

If Bond is midway between the extremes of masculine and feminine, where does that locate the girls?

What's queer about 'three blind mice'? How bent is Dent? Is there something trans about Taro? And what do Dr. No's hands REALLY represent? Find out in this episode. Warning: Contains an academic discussion of the word 'f*ggot' in relation to 18th Century art.

In part 2, I look at the first portrayals of regulars Moneypenny, M and Felix Leiter. I also explore the colonial underpinnings of Bond's relationship with Quarrel and how much Fleming's own preference for male friendship influenced his writing and the subsequent films.

The first part of the Dr. No queer re-view explores the character of Bond, as first presented to us by Sean Connery in his first appearance. What gives him a 'gay sensibility'? Expect a far-ranging and provocative discussion including different points of view on the usual things (girls, guns, clothes) we associate with the character. This is an audio version of an article on licencetoqueer.com, wh...

What makes the queer re-view of Dr. No worth listening to? This is kind of the trailer, with me outlining the main ideas which get discussed in relation to the girls, the villains, the allies and Bond himself - and I also throw in some behind the scenes insights. Queer re-view launches Saturday 21st August - David

From the Glossary on www.licencetoqueer.com The word queer, when used correctly, can be an empowering term which helps open up discussion and therefore foster greater understanding between people of different characteristics. Unfortunately, queer was commonly used to attack the LGBTQ+ community until only very recently, and it still is at times. I remember being labelled ‘queer’ in the school play...

...I recommend listening to this first. Or read this: https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/what-makes-you-think-its-my-first-time

A brief overview of what Licence to Queer is all about and how you can get involved.