Sadie Hawkins Day, aka “Ladies Choice” – it’s a quirky bit of Americana that The Kissing Expert declares a “007 license for girls to kiss any guy they want”.
What some might not know is the genesis of this day is rooted in a father’s determination to marry off his spinster daughter. And while there are many dads who would do anything to ensure their baby girl’s chance at wedded bliss, even offer up golden goods along with her hand, this folk event began in a comic strip.
Debuting in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner on November 15th, 1937, Hekzebiah Hawkins had long been fretting over the prospect of his 35 year old daughter Sadie living at home forever. It seems sadly that poor Sadie was labeled “the homeliest gal in the hills”, and had long awaited a proper suitor to come courting (remember, this is long before plastic surgery was an easily accessible option to fix an unfortunate face).
Mr. Hawkins, being a man of some prominence in the town of Dogpatch, hoped to remedy the situation by decreeing the first annual Sadie Hawkins Day – a foot race in which the unmarried gals pursued the town’s bachelors, with matrimony as the consequence. By the late 1930’s, this fictional tale would become a reality crossover, and snap, crackle and pop like wildfire across the US, with over 200 colleges holding Sadie Hawkins Day events.
While Sadie’s father’s intent was a rather patriarchal solution to his daughter’s dilemma (god forbid a woman in her mid-30’s not be married!), ironically, SHD would become all about “girl power” on high school and college campuses, decades before the modern feminist movement gained prominence (some might also say that many years later, the Sadie Hawkins race would spawn a second kind of “track & field” event for winners – the run on bridal stores where those now “soon to be betrothed” passionately pursued their perfect wedding gown by hurdling and high-jumping over dress racks and other “brides to be” to snatch their prize – who knew?).
So on this SHD, where any gal can take the initiative to invite a guy of her choice on a date and/or to a dance, The Kissing Expert also suggests smooching any guy, and/or as many guys as a girl wishes. Not that ladies need a day that comes but once a year to be a bold bandit, but such delightful abandon could make for some indulgent tasty fun! 
On your mark…get set…Happy Sadie Hawkins Day Kissing!
xxx The Kissing Expert
