Licence To Queer

'To be Bond or to bed him?' (AKA The quote that irks me!)

‘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

On Our Minds Only? Episode 0010 BOND THE OUTSIDER with Craig Gent, Author of 'Cyberboss'

“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-shameThis 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-reactsHe 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:https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/made-for-action 

On Our Minds Only? Episode 009 SOME KIND OF ROLE MODEL with Timothy Russenberger @timothystylesactor

“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 RussenbergerHow 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's keeping you awake?" James Bond's battles with sleep

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

Uncovering the Bond art of Michael Gillette

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.