Licence To Queer

When someone says they meditate, what do you imagine them doing? Many of us picture someone in a lotus position listening to 'chillout' music. Not the sort of thing we associate with James Bond. However, there's both more - and less! - to meditation than this...Quite simply, David had the wrong idea about meditation until a mental health crisis a couple of years ago forced him to learn. Alex has been practising meditation for years. Here, he helps David unpick his remaining misconceptions.Alex brings the meditation expertise, David brings the Bond links. This is a fun one, which is also quite practical: Alex guides David through some meditation exercises live. Why not have a go at joining in?You can watch episodes of On Our Minds Only? in any order. After this, you may also want to check out Alex's earlier appearances in episodes 002: COMBATTING ANXIETY and 008: WHAT'S KEEPING YOU AWAKE?

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