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Original poster

Left handed people

266 replies

ItchyScratch · 13/08/2020 18:07

Do you know today is
‘International Left Handers Day’

I am not left handed but all 3 of my kids are (which I find weird!)

Do you have any tales to tell as a left hander?
Are you proud to be one or is it a nuisance?
Did you grow up in the era when it wasn’t allowed 😳

OP posts:
Scbchl · 22/08/2020 01:06

My great grandma, who died at 94 when I was about 10 (I'm mid 30s now) was left handed. They tied her hand behind her back at school and made her write with her right. My mums left handed and mid 60s and was allowed to write left handed. My brother is and two of my children are, I'm ambidextris. I think it's pretty shit and the kids struggled doing things my right handed daughter didnt.

Madhairday · 22/08/2020 01:18

This thread is so interesting. I'm a leftie in my late forties and in primary school one of my teachers smacked my hand when I tried to write with my left hand and told me to sit on it. Thankfully she could not contain my natural need to be a leftie though. Later on I got told off a million times because I'm an 'upside down' leftie and therefore smudged the cartridge pen ink all over my school books. Blotting paper helped a bit but kept moving and smudging it too as my hand moved.

Recently I went to a calligraphy class and told the tutor I could never do calligraphy as I always made a mess when I tried anything like that. He showed me a strategy which is basically writing backwards and from the bottom up so creating the calligraphy strokes upside down and inside out - and it worked! I was so proud!

I use scissors right handed but most things I favour left like cutlery and stirring the pot etc. Everything in life is so geared towards right handers and sometimes it can be awkward. I went to an adult ed class recently that had a load of those old fashioned chairs with small desk surfaces attached to the right hand side. I had to sit all skewed around and it really hurt my back.

Housewife2010 · 22/08/2020 05:38

My daughter and I are left handed. I have never seen it as a disadvantage. My daughter's fencing teacher told her it was an advantage in fencing. She would be used to right handed opponents but they would have less experience fighting against a left hander.

garlictwist · 22/08/2020 05:50

I am left handed in that I write with my left but I do everything else (holding a racket, eating etc etc) with my right.

PersonaNonGranta · 22/08/2020 06:13

This is fascinating. I have a 1 year old who seems to be showing a preference for his left hand (but maybe it's too soon to tell?) so I'm really keen to see how best to help him, or just not make his life harder than necessary!

Ulysses · 22/08/2020 06:41

I'm left handed and so is one of my DDs. I use left handed scissors for dressmaking but that's about it. I've never found issues with writing but I remember one of my left handed colleagues having bother writing on whiteboards because of his style and he'd often smudge it all.

The only thing that I recall using in my right hand is a tennis racket. Even the idea of use a mouse with my right hand makes me feel a bit ick!
I had a left handed great aunt who taught me how to knit and crocheted. I tried to teach my RH DD but it was a real struggle.

I'm mid 40s and it was never an issue for me at school. In fact, it was something to be proud about. Who doesn't want to have traits that suggest you are more creative that most of the population.

ErrolTheDragon · 22/08/2020 09:17

@blueshoes

Lefties have shorter life expectancy because they have to adapt to a right handed world and can end up with more accidents as a result.
No, as I explained below that's a myth caused by a misunderstanding of data. Lefties may have a few more minor accidents, that's all. This piece explains better

Do left-handed people really die young? www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23988352

EBearhug · 22/08/2020 12:25

I do have my own L handed sewing scissors now which no one else is allowed to use.

No one else is allowed to use my sewing scissors fullstop, regardless of handedness. Grin

Brahumbug · 22/08/2020 12:42

My youngest DS is a practicing sinistrist. He is a keen boxer and loves that other boxers are disconbobulated when facing a southpaw. Grin

coronabeer23 · 22/08/2020 12:47

I’m a leftie- I use a mouse and cutlery the right handed way. But vegetable peelers and can openers are massive problems for me. I have to use the most basic simple ones or I simply can’t work out how to manoeuvre them

Polkadotties · 22/08/2020 13:04

I’m a leftie, however I eat right handed.
I use a mouse in my right hand, my dad worked in IT and it was ‘correct’ to use my right hand. If I have to use someone’s PC and the mouse is on the left it feels very alien

morosetinkler · 22/08/2020 13:07

I'm right handed but one of my DCs is left handed. When he was younger it was better to sit opposite him rather than next time him as he'd copy me and pick up the pen/brush/whatever with his right hand but sitting opposite meant he'd pick it up with his left hand.

morosetinkler · 22/08/2020 13:07

next to him

RaspberryRuff · 22/08/2020 13:15

I’m a leftie, same as my dad. I like it, like being a wee bit “different” to most people. I had to use scissors in school right handed with the result that even all these years later I’m useless at cutting with either hand! I also play guitar right handed as my teacher wouldn’t teach me left handed.

The things that used to annoy me were things like ring binders, pens on chains, and those silly desks with the writing it on them at the right hand side.

I profess to being a bit sad that neither of my kids are left handed

DGRossetti · 22/08/2020 13:23

Worth noting that handedness isn't a protected characteristic ...

Despite my being "right handed" (with a lot of ?????????) I mouse left handed. (Which is a wonderful way to ensure no-one jumps on your machine at work Smile).

So, many, many years ago I went for an interview with a technical test. The PC was (obviously) bog standard with a right handed mouse. For some reason the organisation had completely locked down the PC meaning you needed admin rights to change the mouse settings. Admin rights with the person interviewing me didn't have. And all the IT guys were off on lunch ...

I was later told that if they had just said "sorry, we don't hire left handers" that would have been that.

nevernotstruggling · 22/08/2020 13:29

I'm a leftie. So is dd2 who is 7. Dd1 abd exh (their dad) are right handed.

I had a tussle with dp about scissors. He thinks we should get left handed scissors for dd2. I disagree as they are rarely available at school. I think she should learn to use regular ones with her right hand.

DGRossetti · 22/08/2020 13:55

I wonder if the hand/womb thing is causal or not ?

Does a fetus putting it's left thumb in it's mouth mean it was inherently lefthanded ? Or does the fact the fetus put its' left thumb in its' mouth make it a leftie ?

And - assuming fetuses can't suck two thumbs at the same time - does this mean that there's no such thing as "ambidextrous" ?

ErrolTheDragon · 22/08/2020 14:10

My left handed DH uses cutlery either way, I think. He certainly has no idea which way round to lay a table.

Noidea2114 · 22/08/2020 14:28

I was a leftie but as I went to a Catholic school forced to use my right. Thank goodness for computers as even a doctor would find it difficult to
read my writing.

BlackForestCake · 22/08/2020 16:33

I use a mouse in my right hand

This is a massive advantage for left-handed people, because you can use the mouse and write at the same time.

Dreeple · 22/08/2020 16:39

@blueshoes

Lefties have shorter life expectancy because they have to adapt to a right handed world and can end up with more accidents as a result.
Fatal accidents caused by wrong-sided tin openers? Yeah sounds legit!
ErrolTheDragon · 22/08/2020 16:55

@BlackForestCake

I use a mouse in my right hand

This is a massive advantage for left-handed people, because you can use the mouse and write at the same time.

The question this raises is why more right-handers don't use their left hand for the mouse. It also always surprises me that string instrument players generally use their subdominant hand for fingering which requires more fine motor control.
DGRossetti · 22/08/2020 17:07

The question this raises is why more right-handers don't use their left hand for the mouse.

because it requires a degree of effort and practice that few are prepared to put in ...

Also do you swap buttons ? I do, which is what makes using my mouse very difficult for right handers Smile

PickAChew · 22/08/2020 17:14

I mouse with either hand. Ditto typing on my phone. If I rest it in my right hand to type with my left I end up accidentally turning it off!

What I don't understand is how right handers successfully and accurately transfer food from their plate to their mouths with a fork in their non-dominant hand.

ErrolTheDragon · 22/08/2020 17:28

What I don't understand is how right handers successfully and accurately transfer food from their plate to their mouths with a fork in their non-dominant hand.

It's a heck of a lot easier than violin fingering!Grin I think it's simply because you can see where the fork is going - I just tried an empty fork with my eyes shut. My left hand was slightly less accurate than the right.