This dissertation explores the evolution of the Beatles' lyrics focusing on gender. Placing their work in social and historical context, this thesis examines the shifting relationship between the Beatles and their largely female fanbase by focusing on two key questions: 1) how did the Beatles' lyrical approaches to gender change over time, and what insight does this give historians into how the Beatles shaped history, specifically in connection to their involvement with the counterculture, and

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... ) given the Beatles' quasi-religious, young female fanbase, how did the band's evolution of portrayal and representation of gender impact their fans? In addressing these questions, I employ historical, musicological and gender theory lenses to the Beatles music, fanbase, and historical context in order to provide the interdisciplinary approach this cultural study requires.