The Beatles were one of the first musical inspirations to be described as “gender-benders.” According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, gender-bender is a term that describes a person or people who dress and behave in a way characteristic of the opposite sex. Although it may have been unintentional, from the way the Beatles wore their hair, to the way they presented a less masculine image through music and spoke about young women in their songs, the Beatles served to feminize culture. There is no doubt Brian Epstein tried to make them more appealing to female audiences, but it was in their songs that their message was being heard. There had been no gender revolution until The Beatles came along.
When the Beatles first came to America, a lot of the attention they got was based off of their appearance. At that time, long hair on men had been unseen and considered to be outrageous. But with their popularity, the Beatles quickly changed the way men looked and changed the way people viewed common models of gender. Unlike many of their musical forerunners, the Beatles were clean-cut without any major
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It began simply with their appearance but later evolved with their songs and they way they portrayed women. Before, rock and roll solely described women as being just figures to men. However, the Beatles were able to alter masculinity as well as what it meant to be a man. Women began to be described as individuals with importance. Not only that, but the Beatles also affected music produced by girl groups. What the Beatles had that was different and new was the way that, as an all male group, they seemed to be able to speak from a girls’ point of view. Before the Beatles, there had been no gender evolution. Now to many this eccentric group of individuals are known as gender-benders and still to this day have not ceased to inspire