So much pressure is applied to school dances, which can often take the fun out of them. With popular dances like Sadie Hawkins dances, this effect can be common. Putting less pressure on these events could help them be more fun for the student body.

Getting ready for the dance, renting tuxes, doing hair, and meeting beforehand for photos and food is part of the fun of school dances. Another part of the fun, however, is in the asking. Whether it is close and personal or all-out, prom-posals or homecoming proposals are part of the fun chaos that comes with school dances. With the recent denial of an Ankeny High School winter formal, many students fought to bring back some form of a winter dance. One common type of winter dance is a Sadie Hawkins dance.

One popular winter formal type is a Sadie Hawkins dance, which is where the girls ask the guys, a twist on the popular stereotypical ask. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Sadie Hawkins Day takes place on Nov. 13 every year. The holiday is inspired by the Li’l Abner comic strip by Alfred Gerald Caplin (Al Capp). In the comic strip, there is a holiday every November in which the single women of the comic’s town, Dogpatch, chase single men and get to marry the ones they “catch.” The name Sadie Hawkins derives from the name of one of the shy girls in the comic whose father organized the event to help her find a husband.

The holiday and dance type are often seen as a way to empower women to take their lives into their own hands, since stereotypically the man would ask. It is seen as a chance to let women make their own decisions and choose their own fate, which lifts them up.

While the holiday’s intent is lifting up women, it may not be as empowering as it seems. For one, why must women have a specific day in which they are allowed to take their lives into their hands? Why can this not be every day? Secondly, if the holiday or school event is meant to uplift women, it would be more uplifting to show women that they can be independent and that they do not need to chase a husband to thrive.

Additionally, the holiday is not very inclusive to students and people who do not identify as straight or identify as non-binary. Since the holiday promotes girls asking boys, there is not much room in the 1930s holidays for same-gender relationship proposals. Additionally, in today’s society there is not as much of an emphasis on who is asking whom. 

On the other hand, asking someone to the dance already has a lot of pressure on it. When you ask someone, you put your heart on your sleeve and risk getting hurt if the recipient says no. However, if you get asked, it can be scary to be peer pressured into saying yes or going with someone you do not want to go with. Either way, dance proposals have a lot of pressure on them and it would do us good to put less pressure on them as a whole.     

Personally, I feel that the idea of taking more initiative to ask others out is a great idea, but I would not say I wholly advocate for Sadie Hawkins Day specifically. I do believe that you should take your own life into your own hands and take risks, but that thinking should be open to everyone, not just a select group. Holidays should be for all to celebrate, and the community that provides is what makes them so fun.