In baseball, we’re Southpaws. In Latin, we’re considered to be “sinister.” “Awkward, clumsy and socially unrefined” in French. According to the Bible, we’re supposed to be associated with Satan.
If you haven’t already figured it out, I’m talking about the seven to ten percent of the population thought to be left-handed. In the past, lefties have had it rough. In schools, young children were often punished if they used their left hand. Many would-be lefties were forced into right-handedness, making seemingly simple tasks such as writing difficult and uncomfortable.
Times have changed, and it is now more socially acceptable to show preference for the left hand. However, that doesn’t mean being left-handed is easy. We live in a world designed for right-handed people. Lefties are often perceived as clumsy or graceless just because of their limb dominance. Righties just don’t seem to understand what it’s like to have to constantly try to conform to right-handed standards.
Scissors, for example, are particularly daunting when it comes to trying to cut paper with your left hand. You can’t operate a can opener without your arms and hands ending up in a knot. Binders and notebooks are highly inconvenient, unless they’re used backwards or upside down. Lefties also have to accommodate for right-handed computer keyboards and mice. Even learning to tie one’s shoes can be a frustrating task.
Dylan Herbeck said the worst problem for him is getting lead on his hand because he will smear everything he just wrote, or he unintentionally erases everything on a whiteboard.
Junior Tyler Klafke finds eating to be especially problematic. “You sit and try to eat food and end up bumping elbows with the people next to you.”
In my search for repressed lefties, I came across junior Austin Taylor, who says he is ambidextrous and can use both hands equally. Even he, though, is inclined to favor the same hand as the majority of the population. “I prefer my right hand,” he said simply, “because it’s my favorite.”
Most people are right-handed and haven’t given a lot of thought to what it might be like for lefties to function in this right-handed world. Maybe if more people were educated about some of the tribulations we face as a minority, our social awkwardness and discomforts wouldn’t seem so prominent in our daily lives. Luckily enough for us, some specialty stores do carry lefty-friendly items.
Linsey Tschetter still sees herself no differently than she would if she were right-handed. “I’ve never felt inferior.” She added, smiling, “You know, actually, I feel better than right-handed people.”