Written by Sheila Ahi and Sydney Sheffield

This past Friday, Mountain View High School held a “twinfested” Sadie Hawkin’s dance. Throughout the US, it is the most common title for a dance specifically calling for the opposite of tradition: the girls are encouraged to ask the guys as dates.

This idea, against the more common occurrence of guys asking girls to Homecoming and Winter Ball, can be a relieving excuse to finally show that special guy how much you like him. This year, ASB has made a continuous effort in publicizing it as an “anyone can ask anyone” dance, rather than the exclusive “girls ask guys” concept Sadie’s generally entails.

“Although girls shouldn’t need an excuse, it gives them the opportunity to ask a guy,” MVHS freshman Shira Davidson said.

One would question, however, why the dance would still need to be dubbed “Sadie’s” if it did not fall within the name’s tradition.

Sadie Hawkins was a fictional character in Al Capp’s satirical comic strip called “Li’l Abner” which was produced during the 1900’s. After years of struggles finding a suitor willing to marry his daughter, Sadie’s father chose a day in November and deemed it “Sadie Hawkin’s Day,” during which all unmarried women of the town would literally chase after the unmarried men. The consequence of capture was marriage.

In 1937, when the story of Sadie Hawkins was first developed into a high school and college dance, equal rights for women was still an abstract thought. Yet, the foundational idea surrounding Sadie’s still holds valuable today: girls can take initiative in relationships, too.

However, it’s safe to say that much has changed since the dance’s first appearance in a US high school in 1937 – the idea of a Sadie Hawkin’s dance is far outdated. What was once a huge step for women empowerment in the 1900’s is now demeaning to females everywhere.

In essence, the existence of a Sadie’s dance implies that women need a specialized event of their own in order to ask men to be their date. It promotes the idea that girls asking guys is not socially acceptable in general, and therefore a separate occasion must be created for such an event.

ASB was aware of the controversy and had a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of a “Sadie’s” dance. Although MVHS hadn’t had one for years, the concept was thrown around not only by ASB members, but by others outside the class.

“Sadie’s is something that many students have asked ASB to host,” said ASB Senior Class Secretary/Treasurer Annika Reno. “ASB’s sole purpose is to represent and positively serve the student body. The people wanted Sadie’s, so ASB responded with Sadies!”

The talk was followed by a vote of whether or not the dance should be dubbed as “Sadie’s”, with the majority agreeing on that and the promotion of “twinning.” Although the chosen theme is awesome, the concept behind the dance is archaic.