Graphic by Sofia Savid ‘24.
By Sophie Frank ’26
Staff Writer
Content warning: This article discusses racism, misogyny, homophobia and sexual assault.
As the James Bond books prepare to be rereleased after racially offensive language was removed, questions about sensitivity and censorship rage on in the publishing world. The James Bond books, written by British author Ian Fleming, were published from 1953 to 1966. The series is made up of spy thrillers that follow James Bond, a British Secret Service agent. On Feb. 25, 2023, The Sunday Telegraph released a report on the edits to the James Bond books because despite the successes of the James Bond cinematic universe, the original books have been criticized for racist and misogynistic language. The republication has raised questions about what offensive content gets to stay, and who gets to decide. The publishing industry has begun to trust sensitivity readers to read new and old works for the identification and removal of stereotypes.
In the same vein as recently announced sensitivity edits to a number of Roald Dahl books, the Bond books will be republished with offensive language removed. The newly edited versions will include a disclaimer at the beginning: “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. A number of updates have been made in this edition while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set.”
It is uncertain if or how a sensitivity read will remove offensive racial stereotypes and misogynistic tropes from the books, as some of them are highly integral to the plot. Much of the editing process appears to have been choosing select words or phrases to erase, rather than overarching tropes, according to Euronews.
However, not every offensive idea or word choice will be expunged during the editing process. Euronews reported that “The Spy Who Loved Me,” published in 1962, contains a passage that asserts that women like being sexually assaulted that will not be removed during the book’s republication. Other elements that will reportedly remain include queerness being referred to as disability and the mockery of the Korean villain of the 1959 novel “Goldfinger.”
Sensitivity reading in the publishing industry centers around character traits and topics like those in the Bond books that might be problematic or inaccurate to the lived experiences of a group of people. A 2021 article from The Spectator that describes the daily work of a sensitivity reader says “much of their work involves checking for simple, widely applicable errors. ‘It’s … about what wouldn’t make sense, like [for example], someone with my hair wouldn’t go swimming right after doing their hair,’ [a sensitivity reader described as non-binary and mixed race said].”
According to the Spectator article, sensitivity readers are editors who often work freelance for publishing companies, such as Salt and Sage Books. Sensitivity readers will read a work in progress that features characters or plotlines whose experiences may not be those of the author but are the sensitivity reader’s. Salt and Sage’s homepage features editors for hire who list categories or groups they identify with and feel comfortable representing. These categories range from identity groups, such as a person’s racial or LGBTQ+ identity, to lived experiences, such as immigration or gender-based violence, to areas of interest, such as 2000s pop culture. The editor will read a manuscript and make edits based on how accurately an author writes about a certain issue. The Salt and Sage website says they have “brought together our diverse skills and experiences in a single welcoming place … to help writers like you.” A sensitivity reader for Salt and Sage is paid $0.009 per word, according to the Spectator article, and will work with an author to figure out what kind of read would be most helpful.
Major publishing houses now promote the hiring of sensitivity readers, or an “authenticity reader,” as Penguin Random House refers to it on their website. The Penguin Random House website currently features a page first posted in 2018 that encourages authors to work with what they call an authenticity reader, saying “when authors are writing outside of their experience, feedback from experts within the communities they’re writing about is crucial.”
Sensitivity reading is not a perfect science, according to the Spectator. It can border on tokenism to hire one person to speak as a representative for a large and diverse group. As an article by the Spectator says, “If the book was read by a female sensitivity reader, how would she be able to take into account the broad and varied life experience of all women?” The same question applies to any identity group. The work requires members of marginalized communities to read potentially triggering or harmful portrayals of communities they are a part of, which a source in the Spectator article described as “emotionally exhausting.” As the field continues to develop, it remains to be seen whether people in publishing will commit to diversifying their industry, or whether sensitivity reading, per the same Spectator article, will “[keep] the most socially vulnerable in the most vulnerable financial positions.”
It’s unclear who the sensitivity readers for the James Bond books will be. What is known is that the changes are supported by Ian Fleming Publications, which “work[s] … to protect and uphold the legacy of Ian Fleming and his writing.” When announcing the rerelease, the company put out a statement to The Telegraph saying they had “reviewed the text of the original Bond books and decided [their] best course of action was to follow Ian’s lead.” This lead refers to when, prior to the United States publication of “Live and Let Die” in 1954, Fleming himself approved the removal of harmful language used towards the book’s Black characters. The books in their original forms will still be available, and the Ian Fleming Publications statement encouraged people “to read the books for themselves.” The updated Bond books will hit the shelves in April, and readers will have a chance to decide for themselves how they think future revisions should be handled.