Imagine living in an environment where most everything is created with people not like you in mind. I can't say that I have ever thought about being right-handed until I spent time at neighbors Bill and Dot's home and navigated their kitchen. Things felt off, and I experienced mild angst without understanding why. It wasn't until the after dinner conversation that my right-handed privilege was exposed.
"I complained that everything in the kitchen was backwards to how I worked," Dot reflected on a home renovation project, "Bill redesigned the kitchen, moving appliance and countertops and realized that it was my left handed approach to operating in the kitchen." In that moment, the awkwardness I encountered in her kitchen immediately made sense; I was unknowingly maneuvering through a left-handed kitchen! That experience was unsettling and enlightening and changed the way I empathized with my left-handed counterparts as they navigated my right-handed world.
My right-handed privilege comes from being apart of the 90% of people on earth who are right-handed; only about 10% of people are born proficient in utilizing their left hands. Despite being a globally rare community, left handers are all around me. I was birthed by, gave birth to and have befriended lefties my entire life. Still, my awareness of the challenges they faced living in the same world as me was limited. That's what happens when you have privilege, you have the luxury of not having to think about certain things. So, this year for Left Handers Day I decided to think and write a little about the science, stigmas, struggles and successes of the only group of people on the planet in their right mind.
Family Ties
My children's father and I are both right-handed and managed to produce a left-handed daughter (our two sons are right-handed). According to Psychology Today, "left-handedness runs in families, and two left-handed parents have a higher chance of having a left-handed child than two right-handed parents." My mother was left-handed, my father right; my children's paternal grandfather was left handed, their paternal grandmother right. Neither set of grandparents had left-handed children. Growing up, I had several left-handed classmates, and a few of them have had left-handed children or had left-handed family members as well: Micara's son is left-handed, Star's great aunt (her maternal grandmother's sister) was left-handed, and Nikki's late paternal grandmother and youngest son are left-handed.
History of Social Stigma
When my daughter Jordan began demonstrating a left-hand preference around 18 months old, her paternal grandfather asked if I was going to make her write with her right hand. My daughter's left-handedness was a non-issue for me so I responded, "Of course not! Why would I do that?" He disclosed he was actually born left-handed but was forced to use his right hand because being left handed was not acceptable when he was growing up in the south in the1950s.
He and my mother were around the same age, but I had never heard her mention having that experience. Dot, who is also of similar age, shared that she was never forced to write with her right hand, but was made to feel "different." Her left-handed father, however, was "taught right-handed." Star's great aunt was ambidextrous "because my family thought it was bad to be left-handed, so they made her write with her right hand" and Nikki's grandmother had the same experience. Nikki considered herself fortunate to have been raised similar to my daughter, "Unlike my grandmother when she was young, no one tried to force me to use my right hand."
The older generation of left-handers had a different cross to bear.
In the early 1900s, there was stigma and discrimination against being left handed and many parents punished their children for being left handed in an attempt to save them from delinquency. This fear was fueled by cultural biases that lefties would develop mental illness later in life and religious beliefs that being left-handed was a sign of the devil or witchcraft. Negative perceptions of left-handers were also influenced by leading professionals at the time. An article written about Cesare Lombroso in the New Yorker unearthed the father of modern criminology's 1903 views that contributed to lingering, not so favorable views of left handed people:
"“What is sure,” he wrote, “is, that criminals are more often left-handed than honest men, and lunatics are more sensitively left-sided than either of the other two.” Left-handers were more than three times as common in criminal populations as they were in everyday life, he found. The prevalence among swindlers was even higher: up to thirty-three per cent were left-handed—in contrast to the four per cent Lombroso found within the normal population. He ended on a conciliatory note. “I do not dream at all of saying that all left-handed people are wicked, but that left-handedness, united to many other traits, may contribute to form one of the worst characters among the human species.”"
From Shame to Support
In the late 20th century, more left-handers experienced a shift in being shamed for their left-handedness as advanced research discredited previous data and filtered into public consciousness. For left-handers like Star, her mother became her advocate, "Despite my family's misgivings about me being left-handed, my mother was adamant about letting me do what came naturally for me." Left-handedness has become less stigmatized 21th century and left-handed children are no longer required to switch to their right hand. Born in 2000, Jordan stated that she has never experienced stigma associated with being left-handed, "Young people don't have these types of problems."
Companies are introducing ergonomic tools and products specifically designed for left-handed individuals in an attempt to create equity. Left-handed scissors have been created, for example, but has not been without misgivings. "When a teacher handed me the "lefty" pair of scissors, I knew that I was in the minority and that most things were designed for right-handed people" Micara shared about her elementary school experience. For Star, by the time they were introduced to her she "had just adapted to living in a right-handed world. Because of that, the left-handed scissors didn't feel comfortable and I didn't use them or any other items made specifically for left handers."
Every Day Struggles and Adaptations
Many left handers have developed a heightened sense of adaptability and creativity to navigate a world designed primarily for right-handers. "My most challenging thing is when I am working on a computer." Micara shared, "I am one of the last people who like to use a computer mouse. So, when I go and sit at someone else’s computer, I often have to shift the mouse from the right to the left to accommodate myself." Dot shares a frustration when playing computer games on a touch screen (or iPad), "The order in which things are presented is from the right side of the screen to the left. I (have to) reach across the screen to select an option, and this interferes with my sightline to the game itself."
For left-handers, even a meal amongst friends and family is not without adjustment. "When eating out, I always have to make sure I'm sitting in a position where I don't bump elbows with a right-handed person." Star mentioned. Micara shared a similar need for adjustment, noting it as one of the disadvantages of being left-handed. "I have to be very careful when I go out to eat with a group" she explained. "I make sure I either sit on the end or beside another left-handed person to avoid my arm disturbing someone else’s while we are eating."
The perception of others that left-handedness in social settings like restaurants is no big deal can be frustrating for lefties. Dot recalled an incident where "a left-handed lady complained about how the handle of a cup and saucer is always turned to the right, and placed at the right hand side of each place setting. The gentleman next to her reached over and condescendingly turned the cup handle to the left. He minimized the problem and just didn’t get the fact that the cup on the right requires you to reach across your food to drink! Same goes for glasses placement on the table."
Left for Reflection
The challenges of being left-handed are undeniable. Despite practical struggles and social stigmas, the left-handed community has emerged as resilient and adaptable individuals. There are an abundance of left-handers who have made their mark in a world where they are a minority. Dot and Star have succeeded in the male dominated field of Engineering . In fact, Star noted "I've encountered a higher concentration of left-handers (here) than I have any other setting." This could be because males are more likely than females to be left-handed, and because left-handers excel at problem solving and have superior divergent thinking skills. Jordan problem solves as a Crisis Specialist and Micara and Nikki utilize their superior skills as Educators.
My daughter and left-handed lady friends are in good company with famous lefties like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Prince William, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Jimi Hendrix and Cardi B to name a few. So, the next time you meet a left-handed person, take a moment to appreciate the struggles and successes they experience as they navigate in a predominantly right-handed world.
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About the Author
Carlita L. Coley is a North Carolina native with Virginia roots. A Licensed Professional Counselor by day and a writer during all other times, she enjoys writing about the human experience and for educational purposes. She currently writes blogs for Lita's Lens, Mental Health Matters, and Pet-Peutics.
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