What is a Bond grrl?

Bond grrls aren't "sidekicks" or "girl Fridays." One thing that I know and that is an essential ingredient to all Bond grrls (whether they are fighting with James or trying to kill him), is that they are more than meets the eye.

A Bond grrl is naturally, unconsciously beautiful (though the bad ones preen more). She is independent, sometimes defiant, and she meets Bond half way...but after half way, he has to come to her.

Bond grrls are often searching for something. It might be vengeance, it might be a thrill or adventure, or it just might be risk.

Bond grrls represent feminine strength, beauty and resiliency. Adjectives that describe her include strong-willed...elegant...smart...dangerous. Timeless. Intelligent and certainly not naïve. A Bond grrl is "of a certain class" -- she is going to know how to ride a horse and also how to appear without much ado at a black tie affair. She has a confident self-awareness; she is alluring in ways that reveal her character as a very specific, stand-alone woman (think of Grace Jones, Tiffany Case, Pussy Galore or Fatima Blush). She has no need to draw attention to herself -- just being herself, eyes turn towards her.

In my opinion, if films are totally realistic, the women in those films often lose their mystery and sensual aspect. That's part of the allure of the Bond woman. Not to mention the fact that they have crazy, sexual innuendo names (Plenty O'Toole, Solitaire, and of course the infamous Pussy Galore), which they say without a blink -- as if to dare the audience to be confident enough to play along and not be embarrassed.

Bond grrls have verve. They are in the "secondary" position to James, but they completely lack subservience. These women remind anyone watching what some men have realized all along -- that confidence and feeling comfortable with yourself are very, very attractive attributes. And due to this confidence, a Bond grrl can (and does) do anything.