Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond

The Bond Girl is one of the most recognized and celebrated cultural icons of the last fifty years. First introduced in Ian Fleming's novels and short stories, producers Albert "Cubby" R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman breathed life into her cinematic manifestation beginning with Dr. No in 1962. Since then, the world has been fascinated by the Bond Girl.

Although she has been lauded by some as a liberated woman and true feminist archetype, the Bond Girl has virtually escaped critical study . . . until now. Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond analyzes the cinematic Bond Girl and argues that the character initially served as a different archetype: one that reinforced a traditional, feminine ideal that served as a powerful reactionary symbol against the gender equality movement that gained prominence in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.

Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond provides a glimpse into "second wave" feminism, the Women's Liberation Movement, and cultural representations of women during the latter half of the American twentieth century through a Bondian lens. It traces the evolutionary journey of the cinematic Bond Girl and assesses her cultural impact, revealing who she is and what she represents during the first eleven films in the James Bond franchise, a seventeen-year period described as the Golden Era of the Bond Girl, and beyond.