The 1960s was a decade marked not only by the Beatles’ global conquest but also by stirrings and eventual advent of radical feminism. Particularly in the United States, women began searching for liberation in various areas of life, such as freedom from traditional domestic roles imposed by the historical patriarchy of society. According to Marcy Lanza, an early American fan of the Beatles, the women’s movement “didn’t just happen. It was an awareness that came over you – that you could be your own person. For many of us, that began with the Beatles. They told us we could do anything.” The Beatles provided the opportunity for women to break free from expected gender norms through a movement that the press called “Beatlemania,” a new kind of fanaticism that seized the 1960s with unprecedented ferocity. Beatlem ania was the first widespread outburst during the sixties to feature women – in this case, teenaged girls – in a radical context. Despite the long history of feminism, Beatlemania was unique in that it was rooted in areas traditionally distinct from the political sphere, particularly music and pop culture. Throughout the history of rock and roll, women have always played a crucial role as consumers, but most female Beatles fans exceeded this passive role.