Bond Villains (2): Rosa Klebb

Misogyny in James Bond films has been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere. But what about misogyny and homophobia? Bond fans quickly assume that Messrs. Wint and Kidd were the first gay Bond villains. In fact, it was Rosa Klebb.

First, the evidence of Rosa's sapphic tendencies. She had short, parted hair. She wore very unflattering and drab clothing. When Red Grant's trainer touched her elbow, she flinched and shot a look of disapproval at him. When she met Tatiana, she ordered her to take off her jacket and to turn around. She touched Tatiana's knee. She brushed her hand against Tatiana's shoulder, neck,.... Well, you get the picture.

By portraying Klebb as a villain, the movie demeans lesbians, feminists, and strong-minded women. The 1963 film lumps all of them into one frumpy and shrill category. The link is made expressly with Klebb's name. In Russian, khleb i rozy means "bread and roses", a slogan for the international labor movement with a strong feminist bent.

And just what is wrong with strong women like Klebb? Well, they have a mind of their own (she defected from Soviet counterintelligence), she is serious (she is not a ditz), she is unattractive aesthetically, and worst of all, she is sexless (at least in the sense that 007 could never successfully seduce her.)

It is interesting that at the end of the movie, it is Tatiana, another woman, who kills Klebb. Tatiana, as a slave in our patriarchal society, re-affirms her allegiance to that very system by eliminating a figure capable of disrupting, if not toppling, that system. Tatiana killed women's rights.

Bond villain ranking:
1. Dr. No (Dr. No)
2. Rosa Klebb (From Russian With Love)

CKY