The Stagnation of the Bond Girl to the Bond Woman

The prolonged objectification of the “Bond girl” raises concerns about Hollywood’s lack of gender equity.

The latest release in the James Bond film franchise, “No Time to Die,” broke box office records after its weekend debut overseas. Following its release in the U.S. cinema today, the film is expected to peak $150 million in the global box office.

Over the years, the James Bond series has showcased a variety of women donning the title of “Bond girl.” To highlight the series’ latest release, let’s examine the chronology and depictions of the Bond girl to understand Hollywood’s representation of women on-screen and off-screen.

Based on Ian Fleming’s novel series, the first theatrical release of the James Bond series began in 1962 with “Dr. No.” Throughout the series’ 59 years, it has acquired many renditions of James Bond and Bond girls. The series’ long-lasting power has encapsulated both the language and culture of its time, becoming a global phenomenon.

Alongside the series’ pop culture status is its extensive list of Bond girls—79 to be exact. Although the Bond girl archetype has varied throughout the years, Bond girls often play the companion or love interest to James Bond. Their inclusion in this masculine cinematic space is often brief and forgettable.

In 1962, the first Bond girl to appear in the series was Honey Ryder, played by Ursula Andress. James Bond (played by Sean Connery) first meets her on the island of Crab Key. She dons an alluring two-piece bathing suit as she parts the sea. Her initial depiction is rather objectified and sexualized.

Her objectification is made more evident by the overt sexual double entendre in her name. The pun-filled names would be ubiquitous to Bond girls pre-2006. Such names include Pussy Galore, Sylvia Trench and Kissy Suzuke.

However, following the 2006 release of “Casino Royale,” the franchise departed from the cheesy sexist innuendos of its female characters to more respectable names.

Unfortunately for most Bond girls, the majority of the films don’t pick up where they left off. Bond girls are often forgotten by the next film and are rarely mentioned in following storylines. There is usually no explanation of why their relationship with Bond ends, and these relationships often exist as flings that don’t establish permanence in the series. The turnover rate for Bond girls is remarkably high and indicates their lack of individual significance to the series.

There have been only two significant Bond girls who have established some residency within the series. One is Countess Tracy di Vicenzo from “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and the other is Vesper Lynd from “Casino Royale.”

Often, the Bond girls’ purpose is to provide lip service to the story and elevate the masculine representation of James Bond.

The insignificance of Bond girls is evident in Roald Dahl’s concoction of the three Bond girls from “You Only Live Twice.” Here, he sets up the film with the first Bond girl dying in Bond’s arms. Her death signals a damsel in distress trope, emphasizing Bond’s need to save his female cohorts.

The second Bond girl plays the villain that Bond seduces, but she eventually dies. Although a seemingly equitable character to defeat Bond, his masculine spirit dominates her villainous motives.

The last Bond girl survives, but gets attached in a romantic fling with Bond. As a result, the Bond girls aren’t integral chess pieces to the narrative, but sideline characters who are written to prove Bond’s dominance.

On the other end, the 1980s James Bond series starring Timothy Dalton initiated the Bond woman—a female character on par with Bond. She is structured to have comparable mental and physical strengths to Bond. However, the inequity between the two is visually present with the Bond woman often featured alongside gadgets implying her possessiveness and disposability to Bond.

Furthermore, she fails to differentiate herself from Bond girls, suggesting the lack of character exploration for the Bond woman.

As the film utilizes the Bond girl as conduits to plot devices, their representation is often one-dimensional.

While the previous film, “Spectre” stars the oldest Bond woman to date, Lucia Sciarra (played by Monica Belucci), her potential is lost and degraded in the heterosexual, masculine formalities of the franchise.

Her early introduction to Bond is met with heavy opposition, as he had killed her husband. Even though she harbours hatred towards Bond, her feelings are immediately expunged after Bond corners her against a wall and seduces her.

As the Bond series harbors degrading depictions of women over the years, there needs to be paramount changes to their portrayals. To do so, the series needs to hire women.

Evidently, the issues of female characterizations emanate from the celluloid ceiling — a metaphor addressing the underrepresentation of female employment in Hollywood. With the lack of feminine control towards narrative and characters, the nuance of woman representation has often been lost.

While The latest film, “No Time to Die,'' co-written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, carries representation for women behind the series, her induction as a female writer is one of a few women dictating the progression of the series. Along with Waller-Bridge, there has been only one female writer to boast writing credits alongside the film: Johanna Harwood. She has co-written both “Dr No.” and “From Russia with Love.”

The lack of female writers behind the series is dismal, but the lack of female directors behind the franchise is even worse. Throughout its span of 59 years, there has yet to be a female director.

While the series has showcased a plethora of female actresses on screen, the same cannot be said behind the scenes. Writers, editors and directors have the power to influence the creative direction and portrayals of its characters. As a result, women need to have creative control over films in order to change the narrative and depiction of female characters.

With no authentic female representation, the Bond franchise cuts half of its audience short.