Sadie Hawkins Day is a “holiday” that is still celebrated today — but not so much as it once was. Sadie Hawkins Day is celebrated every year on November 13 — well, at least in some places. It seems that the date of Sadie Hawkins Day can vary. Some use the first Saturday in November, some celebrate on November 15 because that is the anniversary of the original comic strip that “created” Sadie Hawkins, and some places (especially in the United States) celebrate today — November 13.
Sadie Hawkins Day was the idea of cartoonist Al Capp — it became a storyline in his comic strip “Li’l Abner” in 1937.
The story goes that Sadie Hawkins is a young woman that lived in the fictional town of Dogwatch. She was very shy and introverted, making it difficult to find a romantic partner. So to help Sadie find a husband, her father organized a foot race. The race was open to all the eligible bachelors in town, and Sadie would chase after them. The twist was that if Sadie caught a bachelor, he would be obligated to marry her. The story in the comic strip proved to be very popular and became a cultural phenomenon. It was seen as a way to empower women and challenge traditional gender roles.
In November 1938, the first “girls-ask-boys” Sadie Hawkins Day dance was held and became popular. Over time, Sadie Hawkins Day has evolved into a day where women take the initiative to ask men out on dates or propose marriage.
Even though Sadie Hawkins Day dances are synonymous with Sadie Hawkins, the day originated from a fictional race — not a dance.
A similar tradition is associated with February 29th in leap years. Long ago, Leap Day, was know as “Ladies Day” or “Ladies Privilege,” the only period of time when women were free to propose to men. The custom may have been based on a Scottish law in the 1200s or maybe on some Irish legend, but no one really knows for sure.
But probably Sadie Hawkins Day dances are, or are becoming, a thing of the past. The basic idea that a girl can ask a boy to a dance seems harmless, but if you think about it, this says that in a normal functioning society, men ask — and pay — for women to go on dates. In 2023, that seems a little outdated — and — it becomes more complicated with the emergence of the LGBT community. In a gay couple, who ask who? Admittedly, Sadie Hawkins came along in a “simpler” time, but in fact it was built around the idea of sexism.
Maybe modern day society has made the issue more complicated, but it seems like the easy solution is to just ask whoever you want to whatever dance you want….
But for now, I guess, it’s still Sadie Hawkins Day.
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