Sitting at a desk, writing through the pages of a spiral-bound book or even using a pair of scissors; these may seem like simple daily activities for most of you. However, around 10% to 12% of the population considers these tasks not so simple. In fact, it’s a challenge, and sometimes they don’t even know the reason behind it.
Being born a left-handed person in a right-handed world, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for me, with arguments occurring and adjustments being made, to be able to go through my daily life tasks.
Though now, we lefties, don’t give it a second thought, when we go about with our daily routine; you must know that we have faced nothing short of society’s demand for us to be right-handed.
Lefties constitute 10% – 12% of the population and scientists believe it has been that way for thousands of years. Hence it makes me question and google search; what exactly is the cause for babies to be left-handed, when no one in their family is?
Surprisingly, there isn’t a specific reason for this to occur. Studies have shown that birth order may play a vital role in determining a person’s handedness. Therefore, either the first or one of the last babies may be a lefty, but not the middle child. This may be due to hormonal variations that occur in the mother during pregnancy. Additionally, other studies have said that this may be due to environmental triggers. However, these have been dismissed and new research has shown that a sudden change in the baby’s position in the womb affects the spinal cord, which in turn causes a person to be left-handed. Though no one can confirm the authenticity of this to be true, it does give us a reason to think of the possibilities as to why it occurs. If both parents are righties, there is a one in ten per cent chance of their child becoming a lefty. On the flip side, if both the parents are lefties, there isn’t a guarantee that their child will be a lefty, but there is a four in ten per cent chance that it can occur.
Before I focus on the challenges, we lefties face, I wouldn’t want to deny the advantages either, that we have gained, having this inborn talent. Lefties, most of the time are very creative in nature, independent and are considered by some members of the society as something related to the devil. Leaving the devil aside, people who are left-handed are great typists. They can type up to 3,400 words on the standard QWERTY keyboard in comparison to 450 words typed by a righty, which makes me wonder, Was Christopher Latham Sales also left-handed?
A fascinating positive is that lefties do extremely well in sports. Tennis would be a good example as giving service with the left hand can create problems for the opponent, who is most of the time right-handed. Lefties are able to adjust their underwater vision more easily. We also have better problem-solving skills. A plausible reason, we are challenged from the very beginning to come up with solutions to our problems in a right-handed world. We are more likely to have better self-control and are more competitive. That doesn’t necessarily mean we are mean, it is just that we buck societal norms. Some of the most successful people in the world are lefties like President Barack Obama, Paul McCartney, and Nicole Kidman.
Speaking of the positives, we can’t ignore the challenges we face. With regards to sitting at the desks in the library, I struggled initially to find the right position. It wasn’t until a few times later, did I realize, that it was specifically meant for righties. Writing on chalkboards is like a huge curse, as when we write, half the words disappear and we tend to write downhill making teachers state that we have low self – esteem. Considering the left hand to be associated with evil, is something society has misinterpreted from the Bible over the years. The Bible presents the right hand as strong and that sitting at the right hand is considered a position of honor. What does this mean about left-handedness? Is it a curse or a weakness? Definitely not! Whenever the bible does mention left-handed people, it doesn’t mention them to be weak. Ehud, judge of Israel, was a mighty warrior, who was left-handed. Judges 20:16 states 700 left-handed warriors could sling a stone at a strand of hair and not miss. Therefore, people’s misconception over the years that left-handedness is considered as witchcraft or evil is completely false.
Another point to be noted is when we write on a spiral-bound notebook, the wonderful helical indentation we get is long-lasting or even when writing on a daily basis our palms get a permanent stain of black and blue ink because we are lefties. Using the old-fashioned scissor, it made me question myself when I was younger whether I would ever learn to use it properly. Until I looked it up on the net and Voila! It wasn’t my fault. This scissor was meant for righties. With people being more open-minded in the 21st Century, scissors for left-handed people have been crafted. The market today has many products designed specifically for us; like spiral notebooks, pens and the very latest Apple smartwatch. Although, it can be very expensive for the common man.
Truly, I say living as a left-handed person in right-handed reality isn’t a curse at all. Society needs to know that. Children who are born left-handed shouldn’t be forced to become righties, as this can have serious repercussions psychologically. They stutter and become withdrawn. They aren’t able to make a decision as they are also frightened of not being right. Though it’s cumbersome for us to adjust to so many things that are purely right-handed oriented, we want society to know that we don’t consider it a weakness. Instead, we urge colleges and schools to make college desks in libraries more user-friendly for lefties, provide left-handed mouses for computers and have DSLR cameras that are left-handed and economical at the same time.
In closing I say, the next time you see someone who is left-handed, appreciate the fact that they are still alive because we lefties are just 10%-12% of the human race species. If someone thinks differently or does things in a different manner, he/she is criticized by society, which shouldn’t be the case. Lastly, we, lefties, are humans just like you, who try our very best to live a normal life, in a world that is so right.
