An Old Masculine: Short Essay #2

James Bond has always been known for his good looks, cunning wit, sharp intellect and the knowledge of wielding a gun quite well. He's strong, tough, persistent, smart, suave, and what could be called the perfect man. Though these characteristics seem to define what a real man might be, it's wise to understand the meaning and origins of this type of masculinity as we know it. Bond, the man that gets girls with his machismo, or “[e]xaggerated pride in masculinity, perceived as power, often coupled with a minimal sense of responsibility and disregard of consequences” as defined by Encyclopædia Britannica.

What then is masculinity? Scientists have long searched for the answer and it turns out it's up to interpretation. Gutmann states there are four broad definitions of masculinity.

[One] concept of masculinity...is, by definition, anything that men think and do. The second is that masculinity is anything men think and do to be men. The third is that some men are inherently...considered “more manly” than other men. The final [concept] emphasizes the general and central importance of male-female relations, so that masculinity is considered anything that women are not.

Some definitions have even included the denigration of women and characteristics associated with the feminine.

James Bond is portrayed as masculine in many ways then. For example, when Bond’s genitals get injured in Casino Royale, he beckons Vesper in bed “in an effort to prove he can still, ahem, perform as man” (Westover). Another significant example would be Bond’s treatment of women repeated in any of the novels and movies. Tracy Moore of The Nashville Scene writes “James Bond films are some of the most patently offensive, profoundly anti-feminist vehicles around.” It’s true that Bond is known for his poor treatment of women and thinks of them mostly as play-toys, but how did it come to be this way? Certainly Ian Fleming’s original Bond was just a chauvinist as ever, but the connection from Bond to the massive male audience has come from somewhere else.

James Bond may be seen as the masculine pin-up due in part to Sean Connery’s portrayal of the character. As the first Bond, Connery set the standard for the lineup of Bonds to follow. Connery was said to emphasize his macho more than any Bonds thereafter. The “charismatic machismo” we think of when we hear Bond, is most likely only due to Connery’s depiction (Westover).

This role-model being shown could influence young males to mold their perception of manliness and act as they see Bond do. Peter Beresford says their “fragile male egos are buttressed with the megabucks available to push Bond as role model, hero and killer; guns as power and women as scapegoats and sex aids.” Could this be the reason rape, sexual assault, and murder can be seen in some cases as masculine and actually continue to carry forward, perpetually reinforcing this idea. Not that Bond is the sole proprietor to these views; we can see the same represented in television, music, movies and even children’s cartoons.





But Bond has recently decreased in its male chauvinism with the 2006 release of Casino Royale. The womanizer Bond is still present, but instead of having sex with Vesper for the normal James Bond reason of proving his masculinity, he now does so for love. M, Bond’s superior whose character has been always played by a man, is now replaced with the strict and intelligent woman. Bond is now represented to connect to the audience of today. “He is unmistakably male, portraying a very rough image of masculinity, but never threatened by femininity. He is comfortable in a very integrated world.” (Westover).


Though Bond has changed with the times, he’s still that masculine idol he was in 1962 when Sean Connery defined the very idea of masculinity. Whether we’re moving towards a society where men and women are seen as equal, there will always be James Bond to steer young males into the narrow point of view that his masculinity is a must.


Works Cited


1. Brody, Simeon. “James Bond, Masculinity And Social Work Practice: Some uncalled for connections.” The Social Care Experts Blog. November 3, 2008. March 17, 2009.


2. Guttman, Matthew C. “Trafficking in Men: The Anthropology of Masculinity.” Annual Review of Anthropology 26 (1997): 385-409.


1. "machismo." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 17 Mar. 2009.


2. Moore, Tracy. “Chauvinism Is Forever.” Nashville Scene. July 03, 2008. March 17, 2009.


3. Westover, Brian. “A Look at How James Bond Reflects Changing Views of Masculinity.” Associated Content. January 16, 2007. March 17, 2009.

Annotated Bibliography for James Bond’s Masculinity

1.Brody, Simeon. “James Bond, Masculinity And Social Work Practice: Some uncalled for connections.” The Social Care Experts Blog. November 3, 2008. March 17, 2009. . The author of this article tries to uncover why James Bond’s masculinity is so fit for entertainment purposes. He connects the film version of Bond to why men feel they need to exemplify their masculinity. He also points out that young boys who watch the films will feel eager to become more like Bond.



2.Guttman, Matthew C. “Trafficking in Men: The Anthropology of Masculinity.” Annual Review of Anthropology 26 (1997): 385-409. Specific topics discussed include the diverse cultural economics of masculinity, the notion of cultural regions in relation to images of manhood, male friendship, machismo, masculine embodiment, violence, power, and sexual fault lines. This in particular will help define terms and the meaning of masculinity, as is prevalent in the Bond novels and movies.



3."machismo." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 17 Mar. 2009 . This defines machismo as exaggerated pride in masculinity which is perceived as power. Machismo values denigration of characteristics associated with the feminine. Machismo could be linked to the personality of Bond through his treatment of women.



4.Massey, Doreen. “Masculinity, Dualisms and High Technology.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 20.4 (1995): 487-49. This journal explores the working out in daily life of certain classical dualisms of western thought. The significance of the masculine poles of these dualisms for the characteristics of these sectors and for male scientists’ relationship to them is explored, as are some of the associated tensions in the relationship between the spheres of ‘home’ and ‘paid work.’ This is important because of the cultural differences between masculinity, since Bond represents the British, and mostof his audience is of the West.



5.Moore, Tracy. “Chauvinism Is Forever.” Nashville Scene. July 03, 2008. March 17, 2009. . This article analyzes whether feminists have anything to celebrate in the James Bond films, as they “are some of the most patently offensive, profoundly anti-feminist vehicles around.” It would be useful in seeing the positive effects on women it may or may not have.



6.Pappademas, Alex. "The man with the golden style.(Sean Connery)." GQ - Gentlemen's Quarterly 77.6 (June 2007): 46. This is a short biography on Sean Connery, the first actor to portray James Bond. James Bond undoubtedly was perceived as masculine in the Ian Fleming novels, but Connery’s over-masculine approach helped pin Bond’s character to the alpha male we know him as today.



7.Westover, Brian. “A Look at How James Bond Reflects Changing Views of Masculinity.” Associated Content. January 16, 2007. March 17, 2009. . This explores the Ian Fleming novels as being openly misogynistic and how the women are unusually in an empowered position. It also compares how Bond has changed considerably in 50 years. This would be useful for comparing the masculine view of Bond 50 years ago and the view of Bond now.

Group Participation

I was in group 2, or The Bond Masculine and Feminine. My group discussed how masculinity and femininity play into the roles of characters in James Bond. My part, in particular, was to relate geographic locations to how they give Bond an advantage or disadvantage to the situation he's faced with. To be more exact, I used Venice to show how Bond was able to woo Vesper because of the geographic location. For my media, I passed out pictures of the locations I referred to. For class participation, I asked questions on how the students felt the location helped, or if they had any suggestions for other examples.

James Bond: Man of the Times

It is clear that Ian Fleming, of the hit James Bond novels, uses James Bond in Casino Royale as a symbol for Great Britain's role in the Cold War. Throughout the series, Bond is acting as a response to the then-current issues Great Britain was facing. During the Cold War era, Great Britain's colonial power was slowly depleting as they imployed decolonization throughout the world. James Bond is the sort of power Fleming felt Great Britain needed to get through the hardships of their fleeting economy and power.

There are several instances in the novel Casino Royale that mirror the events of the Cold War. For instance, when Bond originally gambles away his entire fund from London, it seems like the end of the road for the hero. Then into Bond's lap falls an envelope of bail money from Felix in order to continue the game. The envelope reads, "Marshal Aid. Thirty-two million francs. With the compliments of the USA," (Fleming 79). In this case, Felix is Fleming's take on Truman with his Marshall Plan being put into effect, assisting European countries' economic crunch.

In this scene, Le Chiffre, a Soviet entrepreneur, is playing baccarat in order to recover union money he lost. Bond's role is to clean him out and leave SMERSH with no other choice than to assassinate Le Chiffre. This is very clearly a response to the fear of the rising Soviet Union. The Allies role in the Cold War was to rid communisim of the eastern countries, mainly Russia. Yet Fleming creates a scene where Great Britain goes at this task with a sense of coolness and collectedness, using wits as their weapon. In this way, Great Britain doesn't look as if they're "policing" the world as the USA is seen. Instead, they outsmart Russia and leave it up to someone else to finish the dirty work.

In today's world, there is no Soviet Union threatening the power of the rest of the world. Because of this, Ian Fleming would not write the same James Bond he wrote in 1953. The world is currently facing economic instability, so a bailout would most likely still be evident, only it would have to come from someone other than America. James Bond would still keep his suave persona, as Fleming liked to boast of Great Britain's casualness over other nations. The enemy would become a middle eastern terrorist instead of a Russian. That's almost how it plays out in the recent adaptation from Martin Campbell, only he services many of the world's terrorists instead of is one.

Works Cited

Fleming, Ian. Casino Royale. New York: Penguin Books, 2002.