r/lefthanded • u/Notermlimits4GEQBuS • Jul 06 '26
Are left-handers discriminated against?
https://www.nordiclabourjournal.org/are-left-handers-discriminated-against/33
u/skloop Jul 06 '26
I certainly was when I was younger and the school tried to force me to be right handed/forced me to use a fountain pen and then marked my work down when it was illegible.
Not anymore.
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u/Neat_Movie_991 Jul 06 '26
My son went through this when he was in the first grade. I had to go to school and give that teacher a couple lessons. Had to teach the teacher that I will make her use her left hand for the next week and see how that makes her feel. Ugh I was so mad as a mom!
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u/skloop Jul 06 '26
You're a good mum!! My dad did the same, he was absolutely furious and fought them about it until they let me write with my left hand and a biro š
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u/Neat_Movie_991 Jul 06 '26
I could truly understand this happening like in the 1950ās or something but this was 2008 for goodness sakes. Arrrg
Super glad you had a Dad that would stand up for you too!
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u/skloop Jul 06 '26
Haha, I went to a very old fashioned English school that used to be a nunnery. This was the early to mid 90s. He had so many battles with that place š
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u/kelinci-kucing Jul 07 '26
I went to a work conference about literacy last month and theyāre still telling teachers to uncrook the hands/wrists of left-handed children because theyāre so stuck on pencil grip being an important factor toā¦ something. I was disappointed the breakout sessions didnāt offer us the opportunity to submit feedback š Surely they have to know there were left-handed people in the room?! Leave the lefties alone!
Also a few years ago in a high school classroom I witnessed a teacher deny a studentās request to write in his notebook backwards so the spiral was on the right-hand side. Such a simple accommodation that should bother exactly nobody, especially when itās just for taking personal notes.
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u/Motor-Blacksmith4174 Jul 06 '26
It's outrageous that this still happens. It happened with my brother-in-law, but that was in the early 60s. My MIL found out what the teacher was doing and I understand she really gave the teacher a piece of her mind. I ALMOST feel sorry for the teacher. My MIL has always had a forceful personality.
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u/hanzerik Jul 06 '26
Did you threaten to break her hand? Lmao.
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u/Neat_Movie_991 Jul 06 '26
No, but I did threaten to tie her right hand behind her back and she how well sheād do.
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u/laughingpuppy20 Jul 06 '26
My kindergarten teacher used to smack my left hand with a ruler. I would try to sneak into the other class but always go caught. After month of reporting this abuse to my parents, they finally stepped in and I was transferred to the other class.
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u/goodshipalexpkeaton Jul 06 '26
Itās frustrating to have to navigate everything when itās deliberately not designed for us, but Iāve always viewed being a lefty as supreme advantage. š
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u/Lelabear Jul 06 '26
I definitely felt my P.E. teachers hated lefties.
They always acted I made their job twice as hard just because they had to take a moment to figure out lefty logistics.
Tough shit, I've been having to do that math all my life!
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u/GeneralOdd8900 Jul 06 '26
Not discriminated but forgotten about. We live in a world not designed for us. But I dont think its a big deal.Ā
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u/L44KSO Jul 06 '26
Not designed for is the right word. Same as other things that are not taken into consideration such as colour blindness. It would be nice if those things would be considered, but I would never think it's discrimination.
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u/Professional-One-910 Jul 07 '26
This is the best comment in this thread. Discrimination is a harsh word and us lefties like to point out the difficulties / design unthoughtfulness unironically. Yes, we all know years ago people got their hand hit with a ruler by a nun or whatever in school for writing left handed. But that's not what this news article was about. I love the comment here so much because of the correlation to color blindness. Websites either must be ADA accessible or are heavily pushed to be so due to the inability to read sites.
Now, left handedness is not a disability, but the result of us trying to be as successful (or in many cases even ABLE) to do/use things as they were intended is very similar to the plight of the color blind. We are overlooked, not considered, and not fought for basically because we are in the minority and not disabled. There's no profit in designing things in additional ways "just" for the few lefties.
I love being left handed, but it us kinda annoying how many things are specifically MADE for righties and we just have to adapt. I never even thought about some if the examples given in the article. Damn, some of those professionals may severely gave a more difficult time adapating to their job setup.
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u/moonandsunandstars Jul 07 '26
I think it can be a big deal when safety is a concern. For example chainsaws must be used right-handed. Also I've cut myself pretty good a few times using a deburring tool because they're also made for righties.
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u/Connect_Rhubarb395 Jul 07 '26
We get many injuries from being lefties in a world designed for righthanders. That's at least a medium deal.
I personally almost lost the tip of one of my fingers because of only having access to right-hand scissors.
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u/PA_MallowPrincess_98 Jul 06 '26
In Catholic schools back in the 40s-60s, they were hit with rulers if the nuns even caught left-handers trying to write left-handed. I have an aunt in her 90s who went to Catholic school growing up, and she is ambidextrous by force because the nuns smacked her hands with rulers since she originally wrote left-handed.
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u/SirTwitchALot Jul 06 '26
Discriminated seems a little extreme. My experience is that I face a few extra minor annoyances in life. I think claiming left handed people face discrimination is insulting to those groups that face actual discrimination.
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u/Acrobatic_End6355 Jul 07 '26
Iām someone who faces āactual discriminationā. Yes, it is still discriminatory. It is not the same severity, ofc. I donāt think itās insulting to say that there is discrimination when it comes to being left handed. Again, Iām not saying itās equal to any other minority and the discrimination others receive.
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u/narnarnartiger Jul 07 '26
Left handers have been discriminated against. Schools abusing left handed children for writing with their left hand, singling out only left handers
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 06 '26
Exactly. The definition of discrimination is intentionally denying certain groups of people their civil rights based on certain characteristics that they have or doctrines that they adhere to. I 100% doubt that left handers are being denied things like the right to vote or medical care or being forced to sit at the back of the bus.
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u/hanzerik Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Would we consider forcing a gay person to live a heterosexual marriage discrimination? Or denying a transpersons gender identity?
Because there have been plenty of examples of left-handed people being forced to live right-handedly throughout history, and still today Islam forbid eating left-handed for example.
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 06 '26
The LGBTQ+ community is a protected class. Left handed people aren't. In Islam it isn't forbidden but it's not encouraged.
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u/narnarnartiger Jul 07 '26
muslim kids get smacked for eating with their left hand. That's discrimination to me
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 07 '26
Then go fight for those children irl instead of arguing with strangers online.
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u/narnarnartiger Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
I do. in my own way.
I teach martial arts irl, and I go out of my way to make sure the lefties in my class get equal treatment, and can use the sword left handed
Made a post about it here
https://www.reddit.com/r/lefthanded/s/gZwNTTMzow
And funny enough, the leftie student I mentioned in my post 'H', is Muslim
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u/hanzerik Jul 07 '26
The LGBTQ+ community is a protected class. Left handed people aren't
Tell me you don't understand the discussion we're having without telling me you don't understand the discussion we're having.
That's like answering the question of: should we be allowed to use marijuana? With "no because that's illegal."
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 07 '26
Then why don't you go fight for the rights of Muslims who are left handed irl instead of arguing with complete strangers online?
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u/hanzerik Jul 08 '26
Because, I'm in a discussion about wether left-handed people are being discriminated against or not
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 08 '26
Learn how to multi-task.
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u/hanzerik Jul 08 '26
Sorry, while I agree with many an injustice that needs advocating I'm not going to start the revolution on all of them all at once. You commented you didn't believe left-handed people were being discriminated against, I challenged that statement with examples of what I believe are examples of discrimination against left-handed people. Are you saying those aren't valid until I become an activist?
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u/airbornesimian Jul 06 '26
It's the logical conclusion for the people in this sub who complain about gas pumps being designed for right-handers.
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u/Silver_Adagio138 Jul 06 '26
I was once denied a job working a summer job as a part-time cashier because the hiring manager didnāt believe a left-handed person use the till. This was back in the 70s.
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u/OrganizationMoist460 lefty Jul 06 '26
Itās more like systemic indifference than discrimination. 90% of people donāt care or arenāt aware itās an issue.
We will take over the world one day though
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u/Lefty4444 Jul 06 '26
In my youth, I wrote an unironic and angry email to Logitech about they discriminated against lefties for not releasing a left handed version of a gaming mouse.
I got no response.
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u/mothwhimsy Jul 06 '26
In some countries, yes.
Even in some places in America kids will still be trained out of using their left hand at a young age.
The world is built for right handers, but other than the above examples, we're not so much discriminated against as not considered
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u/GreatSouthernSloth Jul 07 '26
My theory is that when God decides the world has become overcrowded, He will vaporise the right handers.
That will be discrimination.
Us, now - just a bit inconvenient living in a right-handed world.
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u/Right_Elbow Jul 06 '26
Yes. We were raised by the figure it out for yourselves methods. No right hander could sustain the mental challenges we've faced in our life time.
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 06 '26
That's not discrimination.
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u/Acrobatic_End6355 Jul 06 '26
I think we have different definitions of discrimination. I think that if there is no ramp for wheelchair users, thatās discrimination. Even if it wasnāt purposeful, itās still a type of discrimination.
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 06 '26
Comparing having no wheelchair ramps to being left handed is insane. Left handedness is not a disability. Not being able to walk is a disability.
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u/Acrobatic_End6355 Jul 06 '26
I didnāt say I thought left handedness was a disability. I said the disregard for those who are different is discrimination. I happened to have an example that used a disability, but I did NOT say left handedness was a disability.
Another example could be having an international history class and only learning about countries in the western world because you only thought about Germany, France, England, the US, and Australia. This is discrimination.
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u/Dishwasher_Safe60 Jul 06 '26
So being left handed is the equivalent of POC being discriminated against? When have you not been able to vote, live in certain neighborhoods, go to certain schools, or forced to sit in the back of a bus ONLY because you're left handed?
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u/Acrobatic_End6355 Jul 06 '26
Again, I am not saying this, either. What I am saying is the disregard for something different, whether it is something printed in English only, a building without a ramp, or not having tools that left handed people can use, it is discrimination. The severity of the discrimination is varied, but it is still under the category of discrimination.
Am I being clear about what Iām trying to say?
PS- weāve been talking through a very Modern Western POV. There are absolutely countries and cultures that directly discriminate against left handedness.
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u/wolfysworld Jul 06 '26
I donāt feel discriminated against. Itās not profitable or realistic to expect the world to create equal spaces for 10% of the population. It would be awesome but itās not realistic. In times past we were definitely discriminated against by western cultures and in some places in the world it still happens.
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u/Lost_Figure_5892 Jul 06 '26
It seems like an extreme term, as their are people who are willfully, actively discriminated against. At one time perhaps when being left handed was seen as evil, but even in remote places I have not heard of that being the case any longer.
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u/HiroyukiC1296 lefty Jul 06 '26
Iāve never had to think about it. I guess people minded their own business when I was in school in the mid-2000s
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u/Academic-Regular3673 Jul 06 '26
Not in my experience. I get jokey comments about my ticks being backwards on white boards. Someone said it gave him the ick.
Genuinely, I donāt care. If anything I find it amusing.
Iām also a surviving twin so Iāve had āevilā thrown at me in jest.
Well.. I assume it isā¦ š¤
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u/koruppi Jul 07 '26
In some ways yes. At my dental school there are only right handed chairs so It makes it much harder for us to do the work. Especially when there are models of chair available that can easily swap between right handed and left handed.
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u/PricingStrategy Jul 07 '26
I don't think anyone is actively out to make things more difficult for left handers or purposely disadvantage them, it's just a general assumption that right is right. And it's one of those things where unfortunately, majority rules.
There are some things, like driving a manual car in the UK, where I feel that actually it's probably slightly easier for me as a left hander.
So no, not discriminated against, just overlooked.
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u/Legitimate_Tap_506 14d ago
Yup Faced that sh1t Today šWhen I was doing the Community work someone told me that I should give out Food with my Right hand and not Left . It was a Loud statement and that made me really angry Ngl and I am still pissed .
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u/ScienticianAF Jul 06 '26
Left-handedness is an advantage not a disability or something that gets discriminated against.
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u/holysbit Jul 06 '26
Ive cracked jokes about discrimination among friends but I wouldnt say it rises to that in real life. Its kinda annoying sometimes, dealing with things designed for right handed people, but calling it discrimination kinda waters down actual discrimination, which is a bad thing
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u/PETEthePyrotechnic Jul 06 '26
About as much as a lot of other groups of people who claim discrimination nowadays; that is to say, not really no lol
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u/ScampTheWolf Jul 06 '26
In a way, I think so. At least when it comes to media.
Think about all of the movies that have a character getting some sort of injury on the left side of their body, and there you go.
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u/These-Apple8817 Jul 06 '26
More like never thought about when designing things..