in defense of the "Bond Girls"

So my troop sponsored a Father Daughter Dance last weekend with a James Bond theme. Needless to say it raised some controversy with my feminist friends. And, while I agree with much of what they think and feel about the portrayal of women in the Bond films, I have to say the whole controversy has made me think about the Bond Girls in a different light. 

I grew up in the let-your-armpit-hair-fly-free, body-odor-is-beautiful Republic of Berkeley...in the 70s. Of course I was a proto-feminist and I bought into all the messages I got about being a strong and independent woman. Now, don't get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful to all the women who paved the way for me to see myself as capable of anything and opened the doors for me to be whatever I want to be. But I also bought into some messages that I believe were not so healthy. Strong women, don't like pink, they don't do anything "girly", they can't be interested in fashion or makeup, and, unless you are a lesbian, any expression of your sexuality is all about men exploiting you. I know there are a lot of feminists who don't believe any of that crap but those were messages I took away from the women's movement without even realizing it. Which brings me to the Bond Girls...

The Bond Girls put on slinky dresses and go out into the world feeling beautiful and sexy and powerful. They own their sexuality and stereotypical femininity in a pretty major way. You (and I) may or may not agree with what they do with that power...but they sure own it. And thinking about it now, I envy them that. We women have worked so hard to open so many doors for ourselves in this brave new world. Do we have to shut the door on feeling beautiful and sexy in order to keep those doors open? Doesn't every woman deserve to experience herself as the most desirable creature in the room at least a few times in her life? To me it's not about men, it's about taking back our own sense of ourselves as sexual beings. It's about the thrill of walking into a room with the confidence those Bond Girls have that any man in the room (or woman if that's your preference) would take you home in a minute. Because if you ask me, the slinky dresses and the stereotypically "beautiful" figures are not what make the Bond Girls hot...it's their absolute confidence in their own sexuality.

And, while yes, I agree, that's not a particularly appropriate message for 8 year olds, I also hope when those girls are 20 they can channel their inner Bond Girl if they choose to... and use her to feel great about their bodies and in charge of their sexuality.

On the other hand, at 8 years old (ish), most of the girls had never seen a Bond film and they just liked the idea of getting dressed up in fancy dresses, shooting rubber band guns at bad guy targets and channeling their inner Secret Agents. Which just reminded me that kids are incredibly good at taking what works for them from just about any theme and making it their own!