On November 15, 1937, cartoonist Al Capp created a holiday in strip form only. Sadie Hawkins was the ugliest woman in Dogpatch. Her father, Hekzebiah Hawkins feared his spinster daughter would live with him the rest of his life. He declared a footrace in which all the homely gals in the county would run after the available men. If they caught one, the men would have to marry them.
Although this was just fiction, Al Capp had a popular following who campaigned this become an annual theme in the strip. This fictious holiday took on a life of it's own, sort of a reverse Valentine's Day where the women were empowered to make the first move on the man.
Hundreds of schools and colleges had a Sadie Hawkins' Day celebration where the female students were encouraged to ask the male students to a dance.
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