Citing research from the journal Sex Roles (May 28, 2009), PTI – The Press Trust of India Ltd. (June 8, 2009) provides the following rundown on Bond girls from the first 20 Eon Productions 007 films.

• 98 women were identified as having had “sexual contact” with James Bond
• 97 did not
• 27% were blond
• 40% had black hair
• 19% had brown hair
• 9% were readheads
• “The 18 per cent of women who had long hair were more likely to end up in a sexual situation with 007 than the 22 per cent who had short hair.”
• “Only a quarter of the women in the films had an American accent, but those that did were more likely to have a sexual relationship with the British spy than the 43 per cent who had a European accent.”

“At least one ‘Bond girl’ is particularly striking a woman,” says the research team, led by Kimberly Neuendorf, professor of communication at Cleveland State University. The typical Bond girl has “an adventurous nature, cunning attributes, strong potential for romantic entanglement with Bond, and a sense of self-assurance….”

The Sex Roles article does not conclude with praise for Our Man and the films in which his exploits are portrayed.

The women of Bond continue to be portrayed in a rather limited and sex-stereotyped manner. The ultimate penalty for a woman in a Bond film death seems to accrue from promiscuity and daring to threaten the ultimate iconic masculine hero, James Bond

This study provides further evidence of the continued sexualisation, marginalisation, and disposability of women within Bond films. The Bond films glorify the sometimes chauvinistic persona of Bond,’ the research said.

The original Sex Roles journal piece was contributed by Kimberly A. Neuendorf, Thomas D. Gore, Amy Dalessandro, Patricie Janstova, and Sharon Snyder-Suhy.