A Sadie Hawkins dance implies that a girl is only allowed to ask a boy out when she is given permission. This is a misogynistic, outdated idea. In the 1930s, when the dance was created to empower girls, this may have been a more commonly accepted idea.  In today’s  society, however, this type of dance clearly represents outdated gender roles. It reinforces the stereotype that boys are the dominant sex and are supposed to initiate a relationship.

Sadie Hawkins is also outdated because it leaves people out, because it excludes those who don’t fit into the customary heterosexual relationship. A Sadie Hawkins is about the role reversals of males and females. But in 2014 when one in five Americans identify as gay or lesbian (according to the Gallup Poll), a  Sadie Hawkins dance clearly doesn’t fit the needs of these people.

Dances shouldn’t define gender roles, especially in a society where gender roles are no longer prominent. We commend the student body at Cleveland High School for recognizing that gender roles should have no place at a high school dance today by eliminating the typical homecoming “queen” and “king” and electing a lesbian couple. Cleveland students voted that they no longer wanted those titles to define their student body.

We would like to see Lincoln students follow Cleveland in discontinuing outdated practices. Keep in mind as the dance approaches that all students can ask any other student to a dance, regardless of sex or gender.