37 replies to this topic

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Hey guys, I need some help!!! I'm looking through the Fleming books for instances of homosexuality for an english paper. I know that DAF, and FRWL would be good examples. However, I have only read up to Dr. No. Is there any of the other Fleming books that deal with this issue?
All help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!!!

[Mr. Blofeld]

The Man with the Golden Gun has the gay subtext of Francisco Scaramanga; why not start there?

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Thanks a lot Mr. Blofeld!!! Like I said, I only read up to Dr. No and wasn't sure if any of the other novels had the topic. I'm writing it for an English class.
Thanks for all of your help! Much appreciated!!!!!

[MkB]

There are plenty of more or less clear allusions... I'm sure it has already been listed somewhere... I'll try to have a look!

[HildebrandRarity]

Try the Eon series. It's a gold mine in comparison.

You also forgot Pussy in Ian Fleming's Goldfinger...it's a, er, gold mine.

[dee-bee-five]

Try the Eon series. It's a gold mine in comparison.

You also forgot Pussy in Ian Fleming's Goldfinger.

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

[HildebrandRarity]

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

I always crave Pussy.

[eddychaput]

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

I always crave Pussy.

That is, like, so not gay.

[Revelator]

Property of a Lady also has a stray reference, when Bond sizes up the Fabrege expert as possibly having homosexual tendencies. Bond decides that just by looking at him--he must have terrific gaydar.
But Goldfinger is probably the motherlode. A word of caution however: there's a very non-PC passage which often gets wrongly interpreted as Bond blaming homosexuality on giving women the right to vote. A closer reading shows that Bond is blaming sexual confusion on sex equality--the sexual misfits that Bond complains about are not straight-up homosexuals, who presumably existed before the sexual equality Bond so abhors.

[HildebrandRarity]

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

I always crave Pussy.

That is, like, so not gay.

Who said i'm gay?

[Single-O-Seven]

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

I always crave Pussy.

That is, like, so not gay.

Who said i'm gay?

I always thought you might be a lesbian.

[eddychaput]

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

I always crave Pussy.

That is, like, so not gay.

Who said i'm gay?

I always thought you might be a lesbian.

Zoink!

[HildebrandRarity]

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

I always crave Pussy.

That is, like, so not gay.

Who said i'm gay?

I always thought you might be a lesbian.

Why the would you say that, Single-O...especially when I said I saw FRWL with my lady at the Bloor Cinema a couple of weeks ago?

[Mister Asterix]

See:

Religion, Politics, Death and Sex: The Man With The Golden Gun
Part 1 of Jacques Stewart’s examination at Ian Fleming’s last novel.

Sex and the Single Agent: The Man with the Golden Gun
Part 2 of Jacques Stewart’s examination of Ian Fleming’s last novel.

[Single-O-Seven]

Not to mention Tilly, who craved Pussy...

I always crave Pussy.

That is, like, so not gay.

Who said i'm gay?

I always thought you might be a lesbian.

Why the would you say that, Single-O...especially when I said I saw FRWL with my lady at the Bloor Cinema a couple of weeks ago?

I'm guessing the two of you sat way up in the back of the balcony... I bet you didn't even see half the movie. Tsk, tsk!

[dee-bee-five]

Homosexuality is also mentioned more generally in TMWTGG (the rumour going around at the time that a homosexual can't whistle for one interesting example).

There is also an an interesting reference in MOONRAKER where Bond reflects on politicians bringing their homosexual sons to the police to plead that they not be imprisoned. (Going solely on memory here). Homosexuality was of course a criminal offence in the UK of 1954/55 when MOONRAKER is set and published. The Wolfenden Report of 1957 recommended otherwise. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 eventually abolished the criminal penalties for homosexual acts.

And prior to Wolfenden, the UK government had had a nasty crackdown on gays in the early 50s when Moonraker was written. Actually, that reference doesn't seem enlightened now. But I've always thought it was incredibly brave of Fleming to include it at all given that the British Establishment was so violently anti-gay at the time. But, then, I've always believed Fleming was more liberal on such matters than his writing sometimes suggests.

By the way, Sir John Gielgud was one of the unfortunates arrested in the crackdown, although he was lucky not to be arrested and have the police write "bugger" on the door outside his cell (yes, that really did happen)...

[Trident]

For the supposed homosexuality subtext between Francisco Scaramanga and Bond in TMWTGG which Kingsley Amis (who allegedly finished or at least proof read the novel) firmly believed in, see the following article by Amis himself from the NEW STATESMAN current affairs magazine in 1965. I'm not sure I entirely agree with Amis, but it's highly interesting to say the least. (It was later re-published in Amis' non-fiction collection of articles "What Became of Jane Austen? And other questions" [1970]):

THE STORY FLEMING DARED NOT TELL! by Kingsley Amis

('New Statesman', April 2, 1965)

In most of the Bond books it was the central villain on whom interest in
character was fixed. 'Moonraker', for instance, is filled with the physical
presence of Hugo Drax with his red hair and scarred face, bustling about,
puffing cigars, playing the genial host when he isn't working on his scheme
to obliterate London. Scaramanga, in the last of them, 'The Man With The
Golden Gun', is just a dandy with a special (and ineffective) gun, a stock
of outdated American slang, and a third nipple on his left breast. We hear a
lot about him early on in the ten-page dossier M consults, including
mentions of homosexuality and pistol-fetishism, but these aren't followed up
anywhere. Why not?
It may be relevant to consider an outstandingly clumsy turn in the
narrative. Bond has always been good at ingratiating himself with his
enemies, notably with Goldfinger, who took him on as his personal assistant
for the Fort Knox project. Goldfinger, however, had fairly good reason to
believe Bond to be a clever and experienced operator on the wrong side of
the law. Scaramanga hires him after a few minutes' conversation in the bar
of a brothel. (At this stage he has no idea that there's a British agent
within a hundred miles, so he can't be hiring him to keep him under his
eye.) Bond wonders what Scaramanga wants with him: 'it was odd, to say the
least of it... the strong smell of a trap.' This hefty hint of a concealed
motive on Scaramanga's part is never taken up. Why not?
I strongly suspect - on deduction alone, let it be said - that these
unanswered questions represents traces of an earlier draft, perhaps never
committed to paper, wherein Scaramanga hires Bond because he's sexually
interested in him. A supposition of this kind would also take care of other
difficulties or deficiences in the book as it stands, the insubstantiality
of the character of Scaramanga, just referred to, and the feeling of
suppressed emotion, at any rate the build-up to and the space for some kind
of climax of emotion, in the final confrontation of the two men. But of
course Ian Fleming wouldn't have dared to complete the story along those
lines. Imagine what the critics would have said!
To read some of their extant efforts, one would think that Bond's
creator was a sort of psychological Ernst Stavro Blofeld, bent on poisoning
British morality. An article in this journal in 1958 helped to initiate a
whole series of attacks on the supposed 'sex, snobbery and sadism' of the
books, as if sex were bad per se, and as if snobbery resided in a few
glossy-magazine references to Aston Martin cars and Pinaud shampoos and
what-not, and as if sadism could be attributed to a character who never
wantonly inflicts pain. (Contrast Bulldog Drummond and Spillane's Mike
Hammer.)
These are matters that can't be argued through in this review. But it
seems clear that Ian Fleming took such charges seriously. Violent and bloody
action, the infliction of pain in general, was very much scaled down in what
he wrote after 1958. Many will regard this as a negative gain, though others
may feel that a secret-agent story without violence would be like, say, a
naval story without battles. As regards the 'sex' and 'snobbery' and the
memorable meals and the high-level gambling, these, however unedifying, were
part of the unique Fleming world, and the denaturing of that world in 'The
Man With The Golden Gun' and parts of its immediate forerunners is a loss.
Nobody can write at his best with part of his attention on puritanical
readers over his shoulder.
Ian Fleming was a good writer, occasionally a brilliant one, as the
gypsy-encampment scene in 'From Russia With Love' (however sadistic) and the
bridge-game in 'Moonraker' (however snobbish) will suggest. His gifts for
sustaining and varying action, and for holding down the wildest fantasies
with cleverly synthesised pseudo-facts, give him a place beside long-defunct
entertainer-virtuosos like Jules Verne and Conan Doyle, though he was more
fully master of his material than either of these. When shall we see
another?

Thanks for sharing this fine article, SILHOUETTE MAN! Most interesting!

Also thanks for the reference to Jim's fine review of TMWTGG, Mister Asterix!

I always found the most suggesting parts of TMWTGG to be the dream sequence and the nighttime visit Scaramanga pays a Bond who a actually takes precautions against being surprised at night. He never did so before (or at least it wasn't mentioned). So Bond seemed at least to suspect Scaramanga to take a pass on him.

Sad that we'll most likely never learn how the novel was really intended to see the light of day.

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your help! I'll keep you posted as to how my essay turns out!!

Much appreciated! Thanks to everyone who replied!!!

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Hello again, everyone!
I'm just reporting in and letting you know how my paper is going! I'm just starting to sit down and write up the paper. I've been rereading DAF, FRWL, GF, TMWTGG, and POAL, taken mental notes and will be starting to write the paper shortly.
Again, I can't thank everyone who helped me with this paper enough. So, thanks again! I'll keep everyone posted as time progresses!

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

There is also an an interesting reference in MOONRAKER where Bond reflects on politicians bringing their homosexual sons to the police to plead that they not be imprisoned. (Going solely on memory here). Homosexuality was of course a criminal offence in the UK of 1954/55 when MOONRAKER is set and published. The Wolfenden Report of 1957 recommended otherwise. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 eventually abolished the criminal penalties for homosexual acts.

Any idea where in Moonraker I can find this reference Sihouette Man???

[Major Tallon]

There is also an an interesting reference in MOONRAKER where Bond reflects on politicians bringing their homosexual sons to the police to plead that they not be imprisoned. (Going solely on memory here). Homosexuality was of course a criminal offence in the UK of 1954/55 when MOONRAKER is set and published. The Wolfenden Report of 1957 recommended otherwise. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 eventually abolished the criminal penalties for homosexual acts.

Any idea where in Moonraker I can find this reference Sihouette Man???

Try Chapter Ten:

"Only criminals or informers came and waited here [in Assistant Commissioner Ronnie Vallance's Scotland Yard waiting room], or influential people vainly trying to get out of a dangerous driving charge or desperately hoping to persuade Vallance that their sons were not really homosexuals. You could not be in the waiting room of the Special Branch for any innocent purpose."

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Thanks Major T!!!! You've been a BIG help!!!

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Sorry I missed your question, but Major Tallon's provided the answer there.

I also remember Fleming having Bond consider a waiter in Thunderball to be a "pansified Italian" and Captain Troop (the Service auditor) in FRWL saying to M that he believed that homosexuals were a sceurity hazard to the Service. You'll find Troop's quotes around where Bond first appears in the narrative.

That's alright. I really appreciate all your help!!
I'm just starting the paper so this will work perfectly.
(The only downside?? Ten to twelve pages long...)

[OmarB]

Kid and Wint in DAF were gay. Bond had this whole inner monologue about how mean those homos can be (paraphrasing here).

[Major Tallon]

Kid and Wint in DAF were gay. Bond had this whole inner monologue about how mean those homos can be (paraphrasing here).

Are you sure about that, OmarB? I get only a couple of references to Wint and Kidd's homosexuality. In DAF, Chapter 14, Felix Leiter tells Bond, "Kidd's a pretty boy. His friends call him 'Boofy.' Probably shacks up with Wint. Some of these homos make the worst killers." Then, in Chapter 23, observing Wint and Kidd boarding the Queen Elizabeth, Tiffany Case comments that they "look like a couple of cloak-and-suiters from the garment district." Most of Leiter's comments in Chapter 14 about the pair's sadism don't strike me as reflecting their sexuality.

It may be argued that this is bad enough, but I don't recall any lengthy adverse comments about homosexuality. Am I missing something?

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Kid and Wint in DAF were gay. Bond had this whole inner monologue about how mean those homos can be (paraphrasing here).

Are you sure about that, OmarB? I get only a couple of references to Wint and Kidd's homosexuality. In DAF, Chapter 14, Felix Leiter tells Bond, "Kidd's a pretty boy. His friends call him 'Boofy.' Probably shacks up with Wint. Some of these homos make the worst killers." Then, in Chapter 23, observing Wint and Kidd boarding the Queen Elizabeth, Tiffany Case comments that they "look like a couple of cloak-and-suiters from the garment district." Most of Leiter's comments in Chapter 14 about the pair's sadism don't strike me as reflecting their sexuality.

It may be argued that this is bad enough, but I don't recall any lengthy adverse comments about homosexuality. Am I missing something?

You mean in DAF? I don't think so. We're supposed to either accept that they're gay, or think that they're "accomplises."
I don't think that Fleming explicitly stated their sexuality.

Edited by danielcraigisjamesbond007, 18 March 2009 - 12:34 AM.

[Major Tallon]

Yes, my last comments were directed specifically to DAF. Fleming didn't explicitly say that the two hitmen were homosexual, but it was pretty strongly implied.

[OmarB]

Maybe I read too much into it then.

[danielcraigisjamesbond007]

Hello again everyone!
I need your help again!
I'm writing about Goldfinger, but I can't find the references to Tilly or Pussy. I keep looking but I just can't find them. Can anyone please help me as soon as possible? I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks!

[MkB]

Look in chapter 17, HOODS' CONGRESS:

'Who is this Pussy Galore from Harlem?'
'She is the only woman who runs a gang in America. It is a gang of women. I shall need some women for this operation. She
is entirely reliable. She was a trapeze artiste. She had a team. It was called "Pussy Galore and her Abrocats".' Gold-finger did
not smile. 'The team was unsuccessful, so she trained them as burglars, cat burglars. It grew into a gang of outstanding
ruthlessness. It is a Lesbian organization which now calls itself 'The Cement Mixers'. Even the big American gangs respect
them. She is a remarkable woman.'

[...]

Miss Galore held his eyes. She said 'Pardon my asking' with the curt tone of a hard woman shopper at the sales.
Bond liked the look of her. He felt the sexual challenge all beautiful Lesbians have for men. He was amused by the
uncompromising attitude that said to Goldfinger and to the room, 'All men are bastards and cheats. Don't try any masculine
hocus on me. I don't go for it. I'm in a separate league.' Bond thought she would be in her early thirties. She had pale, Rupert
Brooke good looks with high cheekbones and a beautiful jawline. She had the only violet eyes Bond had ever seen. They were
the true deep violet of a pansy and they looked candidly out at the world from beneath straight black brows. Her hair, which
was as black as Tilly Masterton's, was worn in an untidy urchin cut. The mouth was a decisive slash of deep vermilion. Bond
thought she was superb and so, he noticed, did Tilly Masterton who was gazing at Miss Galore with worshipping eyes and lips
that yearned. Bond decided that all was now clear to him about Tilly Masterton.

Then chapter 19, SECRET APPENDIX (no, really! )

Bond came to the conclusion that Tilly Masterton was one of those girls whose hormones had got mixed up. He knew the
type well and thought they and their male counterparts were a direct consequence of giving votes to women and 'sex equality'.
As a result of fifty years of emancipation, feminine qualities were dying out or being transferred to the males. Pansies of both
sexes were everywhere, not yet completely homosexual, but confused, not knowing what they were. The result was a herd of
unhappy sexual misfits - barren and full of frustrations, the women wanting to dominate and the men to be nannied. He was
sorry for them, but he had no time for them. Bond smiled sourly to himself as he remembered his fantasies about this girl as
they sped along the valley of the Loire. Entre Deux Seins indeed!