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See the YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Judged on Looks” (written 11/10, on and for Sadie Hawkins Day), “Pickle History was No Matter”” (written 11/14, on and for National Pickle Day), “Just so Others can Feel” (written in November during National Novel Writing Month), and “Know Peace and Rise to Power” (written 11/19, on and for the birthday of Indira Gandhi, 1917) from the Janet Kuypers poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume Two: July-December)” live 11/4/20 in honor of “Community Poetry” (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr).

See a Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Judged on Looks”, “Pickle History was No Matter”, “Just so Others can Feel”, and “Know Peace and Rise to Power” from the Janet Kuypers poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume Two: July-December)” live 11/4/20 in honor of “Community Poetry” (from a Samsung S9 camera).

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Our Waste in Space”, “Judged on Looks”, “Know Peace and Rise to Power”, “People Forget Politics”, “Unwind and Revere Yourself”, “Expand and Save Yourselves”, and “Queens Rule” from the Down in the Dirt November 2021 v189 issue/paperback book “A Door is A Door is A Door” 11/3/21 at the performance art pavilion at the French Market in New Orleans, LA on the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST during the usual time for the “Community Poetry” open mic (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Our Waste in Space”, “Judged on Looks”, “Know Peace and Rise to Power”, “People Forget Politics”, “Unwind and Revere Yourself”, “Expand and Save Yourselves”, and “Queens Rule” from the Down in the Dirt November 2021 v189 issue/paperback book “A Door is A Door is A Door” 11/3/21 at the performance art pavilion at the French Market in New Orleans, LA on the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST during the usual time for the “Community Poetry” open mic (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera with a Sepia Tone filter; on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Opened the Door for All” from the Scars Publications November 2021 cc&d v315 issue/book “Down and Inside”, then reading her poems “Judged on Looks” and “People Forget Politics” from the Scars Publications November 2021 Down in the Dirt v189 book “A Door Is A Door Is A Door” during the “Poetic License virtual open mic 11/7/21” she hosted through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoem #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoeticlicense

Enjoy this Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Opened the Door for All” from the Scars Publications November 2021 cc&d v315 issue/book “Down and Inside”, then reading her poems “Judged on Looks” and “People Forget Politics” from the Scars Publications November 2021 Down in the Dirt v189 book “A Door Is A Door Is A Door” during the “Poetic License virtual open mic 11/7/21” she hosted through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (this video was filmed & streamed from a Samsung S9 camera and given a Triangle filter; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoem #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoeticlicense

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Opened the Door for All” from the Scars Publications November 2021 cc&d v315 issue/book “Down and Inside”, then reading her poems “Judged on Looks” and “People Forget Politics” from the Scars Publications November 2021 Down in the Dirt v189 book “A Door Is A Door Is A Door” during the “Poetic License virtual open mic 11/7/21” she hosted through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoem #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoeticlicense

Enjoy this Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Opened the Door for All” from the Scars Publications November 2021 cc&d v315 issue/book “Down and Inside”, then reading her poems “Judged on Looks” and “People Forget Politics” from the Scars Publications November 2021 Down in the Dirt v189 book “A Door Is A Door Is A Door” during the “Poetic License virtual open mic 11/7/21” she hosted through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (this video was filmed & streamed from a Samsung S9 camera). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoem #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoeticlicense

Judged on Looks Janet Kuypers 11/13/19, written on Sadie Hawkins Day I’ve vaguely heard of this holiday before, maybe in high school, where the premise was that women asked men to dances — because, you know, this was a ludicrous idea, the men were the ones who were supposed to be asking the women out. And back in high school, I went so far as to ask a male friend of mine to go to Prom; we were just friends, I wasn’t going to have a “boyfriend” date, and I thought this friend would be the most fun to hang with in this ritualistic high school “holiday.” But I just read that the origins of this holiday were from Al Capp’s comic strip Li’l Abner, where Sadie Hawkins was actually homely and no one wanted to be near her — so her father had all the single men run out of town, and the only one she “caught” would be forced to marry her. Now, this popular section of a comic strip incited future Sadie Hawkins dances, where women were the ones who could ask men to dance. And yes, looking back, it may seem ludicrous, and we women may feel we have power now, but in the same breath, it’s also funny that a silly story in a comic strip may have helped to incite change for women. All because a comic book woman was ugly and wasn’t married by the time she was 35. Sorry that we’re still so judged on looks, woman, so let’s just keep working past sexism, in that uphill battle in this patriarchal society — even when an old comic strip’s a stepping stone.

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