The track was the result of a mix-up by vocalist Steven Tyler
During an event hosted by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), composer Desmond Child revealed a curious fact about one of Aerosmith .
Co-written by him, Desmond revealed that the track “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” was inspired by a mix-up Steven Tyler had when meeting Vince Neil from Mötley Crüe . “He told me that when he saw Vince Neil, he mistook him for a pretty woman behind the bar and immediately started singing 'The guy looks like a girl'. I immediately said, 'Now that's a hit title!'”
Desmond also mentions that Tyler and Joe Perry were insecure because they believed no one would understand what the song was about. "It's about an ordinary guy who approaches a woman at a bar and talks to her until later in the night, he discovers she's 'he'... But he continues anyway," he explains.
The composer also said that the song became something modern for its time, given that only now is gender identity a topic in the media. "The idea of a transgender person being something positive in a hit song is something completely new and revolutionary," he continued, "The song is catchy even if you don't know what it's about."
