American Politics & Pop Culture

Ehrenreich, et al. contend that the introduction of the Beatles in the early 1960’s was the onset of the female sexual revolution in America. The writers explain that such occurrences of hundreds of young girls screaming and “abandoning control� had never happened to this magnitude, and they argue that this was their way of protesting against the double standard and sexual repression females faced during their time (524). In analyzing why Beatlemania was happening, one suggestion was that it was a major shift for youth conforming with each other so not conform to adult mores and expectations. For young women to show sexual emotions openly was to prove their defiance. They go on to explain that a growing number of youth began to see flaws in the traditional American lifestyle, and that many of them decided they wanted something different. Rock and roll became a channel for youth to freely express themselves, and the Beatles were their inspiration because they promoted, “a vision sexuality freed from the shadow of gender inequality because [they] mocked the gender distinctions that bifurcated the American landscape into ‘his’ and ‘hers . . . [they] blurred the lines and expanded the possibilities� (535).
I found myself referencing this article often in my last paper. The Beatles effect on popular culture in America provided a significant contribution to not only female sexual liberation, but also to inspiring the counterculture as a whole through promoting individuality and openly rebelling against many mores and expectations set by previous generations. Ehrenreich and her colleagues present how and why Beatlemania contributed to the onset of the revolutionary 60’s, primarily the “changing roles of women� and society’s concept of “sexuality and what it means to be a woman� (Arrigo, Culture). The article articulates on the strong conservative values that oppressed free expression, youth’s growing skepticism towards the expected American lifestyle, and the ways in which the Beatles were able to use rock and roll to inspire youth to express their individuality. The article corresponds to lecture regarding the sociopolitical landscape of the nation before the Beatles and rock and roll's effects leading up to the revolutionary era in which greatly contributed to shaping popular culture and politics today.