‘Leftie’ And Happy
Photo credit https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image?phrase=left%20handed%20writing
We celebrate ‘Lefthanders Day” on August 13 while living in a right handed world. Somewhere between 10% and 13% of the world population is left handed, including my left handed daughter married to her left handed husband, who have at least one left handed child. (They have another baby with yet undetermined hand dominance.)
I also have a ‘should have been’ left handed sister. My parents, who thought being left handed came from Satan, disciplined my sister until she learned to use her right hand.
My parents aren’t unique to the idea of left handedness being a bad thing! This perception of wickedness is long embedded in history. “Sinister” is derived from the Latin word “sinestra” or “left.” Through the years left handed individuals have been tormented, even persecuted for their innate ability to write differently from what was considered socially normal. Even into the late 1800’s, left handed dominate people were believed to ‘be in alliance’ with the devil!
Even now, our society connects ‘left’ with negativity. In a dance a person may say, “I have two left feet,” while it’s good to be “a right hand man.” Some suggest if both a right handed and left handed person see the same images in a list and are asked to choose between the two, the right handed person is more likely to choose the items on the right, the left handed person, those images on the left; and this can, in theory, supposedly, even affect voting ballots.
In our ‘right handed world’ my microwave, refrigerator, and other appliances work from the right; including the placement of my dishwasher to the ‘right’ of the sink! Desk drawers are typically on the right and scissors and often complex machines in industry are made for ‘righties’, as well.
Some have argued that being left hand dominate, should be considered a disability. My daughter would argue (loudly) that it isn’t! It does require some adaptation, but certainly doesn’t usually inhibit a person from performing tasks or deplete the quality of life. Still it is an inconvenience, which is why people are trying to create awareness of the unique struggles created in our ‘right handed’ world, even if unintentional.
Because of this, in 1990 a Left Handers Club was created to bring awareness to manufactures and others who could have an impact on making subtle changes in new merchandise that would work better for ‘Lefties.’ This eventually led to Left Handers Day in 1992; a day to celebrate their difference and continue to educate others.
While some believe hand dominance may be genetic, Scientists are still not absolutely certain why one child is born left handed, while another right. It’s interesting to note, however, that while a person is dominantly left handed, some have the ability to use their right hand just as well, albeit for different activities. My left handed daughter catches ball with her right hand and even ties a bow right handed.
Being left handed is not a bad thing. It’s another area of being the same but being different! We are each unique and wonderfully made, even when we don’t fit all the ‘normal parameters’ set by social sectors.
To all ‘Lefties’ —- enjoy your day and celebrate!
#LeftHandednessDay #LeftHandedAndHappy #LeftHanded #RightHandedWorld #Genetics #NotWickedOrEvil #JustDifferent