Besides the antiquated special effects and grandiose villains, "Goldfinger" still suffers from the now politically incorrect views towards women that were just beginning to evolve in the early 1960s. Admittedly, for its time, the film was progressive in its portrayal of Pussy Galore; Not only was she a pilot with her own fleet of five additional female pilots, but she also held Bond at gunpoint during half their interactions. She was not seduced by Bond until the very end, and even then, Bond had to tackle her and hold her down to get her to kiss him (in a scene that could almost be classified as a rape). Pussy Galore was the exception to the rule, as every other female character threw herself at him. M's secretary, Miss Moneypenny, batted her eyelashes at Bond as she sat on the edge of her desk. Bond sleeps with Jill Masterson, the secondary Bond Girl, in order to get to Goldfinger. She dies in the very next scene, smothered in gold paint by Goldfinger's associates, and discarded after she's been used. The women of "Goldfinger" were just blind toys and blonde distractions for Bond as he strutted through the film.
The most outright example of the film's misogynistic attitudes appears near the very beginning, when Felix Leiter, Bond's friend in the CIA, meets up with him at a sunny resort. When Leiter finds him, a girl in a blue bikini is giving Bond a back massage. Bond sits up, grabs his robe, and says, "Felix, this is Vink," then to the girl, "Vink, say goodbye to Felix." She looks at Bond quizzically. He smiles down at her, says, "Man talk," and then spanks her as she turns to leave. Keeping in mind that these were the early 1960s, it is understandable that women would be portrayed this way, but viewing the movie with that mindset also ages it. This scene could never happen in a modern Bond film. At least, it might end differently, with Vink punching Bond in the face in retaliation.
As opposed to the powerless women of "Goldfinger," the women of "Casino Royale" were never out of control. In parallel to the sex toy demise of Jill Masterson, Bond seduces Solange Dimitrios, the wife of one of the minor villains, in order to gather information about her husband's organization. As they lay on the floor of Bond's suite, and she notes that her husband is a bad man, he asks, "What makes him bad, the nature of his work?" Solange, moving her mouth up Bond's naked chest, replies, "That's a mystery, I'm afraid. I'm also afraid that you will sleep with me in order to get to him." Bond smiles as she calls his bluff, and says, "How afraid?" Solange answers, "Not enough to stop," and they kiss. Granted, Solange doesn't know that she'll be dead and hanging from a palm tree by morning for betraying her husband, but it's worth noting that this time, the secondary Bond Girl openly acknowledged her role in Bond's adventure. This reflects a modern attitude towards women's rights, which is that women deserve the freedom to make their own decisions. In a forward-moving culture, reverting from women's suffrage is much more difficult, and socially unacceptable, than regressing to old gender role stereotypes, which is another reason why "Casino Royale" will age more gracefully.
Meeting in the middle, the villainess Xenia Onatopp of “GoldenEye” – yes, note her last name – uses her gender as her most potent weapon. She seduces whoever needs to be seduced, and once they are in bed together, she wraps her legs around the man and crushes him. In the middle of having sex with one of her victims, he screams, “Xenia, I can’t breathe!” and she just laughs and clamps on tighter. He asphyxiates and dies.
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