The Sadie Hawkins dance is named after a comic strip, Li'l Abner, created by cartoonist Al Capp. The character, Sadie Hawkins, was waiting for suitors to go out with her. When she reached 35 years old, her father was worried that she would live by herself for the rest of her life. Desperate to find love for his daughter, he gathered all of the unmarried men of Dogpatch and declared it "Sadie Hawkins Day." She got to chase the bachelors, and marry the men she caught. The town spinsters decided to make Sadie Hawkins Day a yearly event because it was such a good idea. If a woman caught a bachelor and dragged him across the finish line before sundown, he had to marry her. At our school, it is unnecessary to drag the boy we would like to take, to the dance. Accepting whether they say yes or no would be appropriate, and I would much rather go on a date that wasn't forced.
This concept was created for women, allowing them to choose a date to the dance instead of waiting for a man to ask her. The first known Sadie Hawkins dance was held on November 15, 1938. Within a year similar events have followed, and by 1952, the event was celebrated at around 40,000 venues. A popular style of dance was "speed dancing" which is similar to speed dating. The DJ picks two people to start dancing and periodically, he will shout "snowball." This signals dancers to find new partners, and half of the people asking will be girls asking boys. This dance is used to get the dancing started, and people chosen cannot refuse to dance, thus growing the "snowball" on the dance floor.
Ladies, this is your time to show men who's boss, so don't be afraid to ask a guy to the dance. Ask the guy you've been crushing on in a class of yours before someone else does! And don't forget to have fun!
I always wondered why it was called the Sadie Hawkins Dance, it didn't make sense to me. Now it does and that was a very detailed explanation with a humorous story behind it! I find the dance interesting, but personally disagree with it. Yes, it is an opportunity for girls to take the initiative with men, but in this modern day-and-age, should we really still be dictating our lives through such biased gender norms? I believe women should be able to ask men on dates or to dances without being seen as "forward" or "shameless" regardless of the occasion and not just once a year.
ReplyDeleteI was quite surprised to learn how this kind of dance originated, and I found it interesting and amusing as well. However to respond to your point regarding gender norms, I don't believe, at least in the case of dances, dates, and such, that "biased gender norms" are the driving force behind them, rather I think it is the concept of chivalry; although many claim it to be dead, I believe the concept is rooted in society and in peoples' minds. Some may come back and argue that the concept of chivalry in in fact a form of "gender norms", but with the way the term is thrown around in a mainly negative connotation, a distinction should at least be made between the two, as chivalry is seen as a mainly positive thing.
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