# Are left-handed people disabled? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 6, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792 "2004-03-06T00:27:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/21 "2004-03-06T21:19:30Z")
I’ve never thought of myself as disabled. The only problems I’ve ever really had were with those half-desks in school that were made with a right hand bias. Occasionally there would be one or two left handed ones in a room but the rest of the time I had to shift awkwardly. Otherwise I always got by. Of course, I do have two pair of left handed scissors. Real ones. Not the ones that are advertised as being for “left or right handed people.” Which are just righties without bias molded handles. I’ve occasionally joked about lefties being subject to discrimination, but it’s just a joke. One day, though, we’ll make the righties pay. Heh, heh, heh. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/22 "2004-03-06T23:25:00Z")
No, left handedness is not a disability. In fact, left-handedness is not even a born trait, contradictory to popular belief. Handedness is learned. The notion of brain hemisphere dominance is a pseuodoscience. My long post on this with cites was eaten by hamsters, and I don’t want to do it again, but I urge you to google on the topic and see what you come up with, as well as interrogating what scientific evidence there really is for handedness or brain hemisphere dominance as an innate quality. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/23 "2004-03-06T23:35:14Z")
I’m a third or fourth generation leftie. **Mrs. Duckster** is a leftie. The cat is a leftie (as are most cats). Seems to me the disability exists in the right-hand world. After all, they require all sorts of tools and things designed especially for them. I can use any with ease. And yes, I drive a stick. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![agiantdwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@agiantdwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agiantdwarf)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/24 "2004-03-06T23:43:29Z")
I’m a lefty, and I think schools should at least have some things to accomodate lefties: - those desks designed for righties need to go or you need to have one or two left-handed ones. - you should have left-handed gloves if you’re going to be playing baseball in gym Also, I wonder what percentage of lefties are lefties. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/25 "2004-03-06T23:43:38Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > No, left handedness is not a disability. In fact, left-handedness is not even a born trait, contradictory to popular belief. Handedness is learned. The notion of brain hemisphere dominance is a pseuodoscience. My long post on this with cites was eaten by hamsters, and I don’t want to do it again, but I urge you to google on the topic and see what you come up with, as well as interrogating what scientific evidence there really is for handedness or brain hemisphere dominance as an innate quality. See [http://duke.usask.ca/~elias/left/genetics.htm](http://duke.usask.ca/~elias/left/genetics.htm) It is not as simple as you state. ---
**Author:** ![Aldebaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Aldebaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aldebaran)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/26 "2004-03-06T23:54:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Handedness is learned. You are completely wrong, sorry. I am left handed since birth. Don’t start talking nonsense about something you obviously have no idea about. I was not “influenced” or “teached” at all to give preference to my left hand, quite the contrary. I was teached to use my right hand for things like writing, eating etc… because in our culture this is the way you do things. Yet that didn’t “cure” me from being left handed bewause beuing left handed is my nature. Thus I can write ,eat, do almost everything with both hands, yet still use my left hand by preference and automatically when there is no “outside pressure”’ because that is my nature. My son is left handed since birth. I saw that already when he was merely a few hours old. Nobody ever did anything to "encourage " him to give preference to the use of his left hand; he just used it (and uses it) in the way any right handed person uses his right hand. By the way: I don’t consider myself “disabled” because I am left handed. That is just ridiculous. I should say left handed people in a domintantly right handed world have lot of advantages, because we are pressed to learn how to deal with the difficulties and thus learn to use our imagination and learn how to adapt ourselves. (I would like to see a right handed person use his left hand with the same skill as we use our right hand = our both hands). I am also severely dyslexic. In comparison with that handicap, suggesting that being left handed is a 'disability" is in my opinion a luxury joke. Salaam. A ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/27 "2004-03-07T03:23:20Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Being lefthanded is certainly no disadvantage in sport (except field hockey) and is a great advantage in tennis and cricket. I have also noticed that compared to people I meet in real life, far more actors seem to be left handed. Even Bart Simpson. Really? I played field hockey for years without noticing any difficulty due to my left-handedness. (In fact, hockey influenced me so much that I play right-handed at cricket and golf.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/28 "2004-03-07T06:15:21Z")
> [@Dutch George](#): > > Why do I get the distinct feeling that this thread is the precursor to frivolous litigation on an unthinkable scale? “Oh gosh! I am different from my co-worker/neighbor/etc. This must be someone’s fault! Ka-ching!” > > A subsequent prize, presumably, to be offered to first to prove beyond a doubt that blue-eyed people are disadvantaged compared to green-eyed (or vice versa, or any permutation you choose). OK, picture this scenario. Lefty starts a new job, has difficulties because his/her work station is set up for right-handed person. Lefty rearranges work station to make it easier to work at. Boss comes to cubicle, reprimands Lefty, orders him/her to put work station back the way it was. Lefty complies. Boss later reprimands Lefty for inefficiency on job, which is caused in large part by working at a station that is set up for right-handed person. Lefty begs permission to rearrange work station because this would enable him/her to perform job more efficiently. Boss says, “tough shit”. Lefty is eventually fired for inefficiency. I tend to think that a wrongful dismissal suit would be in order here, since handedness is a matter of neurological wiring, and Boss was aware of Lefty’s lefthandedness and refused to allow Lefty to make accomodations for his/her, well, for lack of a better word, condition, that would enable him/her to perform the job efficiently. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/29 "2004-03-07T07:25:39Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > No, left handedness is not a disability. In fact, left-handedness is not even a born trait, contradictory to popular belief. Handedness is learned. That’s false. ---
**Author:** ![annaplurabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@annaplurabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annaplurabelle)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/30 "2004-03-07T08:51:31Z")
> [@agiantdwarf](#): > > Also, I wonder what percentage of lefties are lefties. 😉 This was a classic [Ask Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_395.html) question: > [@](#): > > …You’re right about the difficulty of establishing true left-handedness; for that matter, it’s difficult to establish true right-handedness. One researcher estimates that if you considered a wide range of motor skills–writing, throwing, batting, eating, and so on–only about 7.5 percent of the population would turn out to be “pure” right-handers. > > Moreover, there is some dispute about what true left-handedness means. A few years ago a couple researchers at the University of Pennsylvania claimed to be able to detect two distinct kinds of left-handed writers–those who mirror the way right-handers hold their pencils, and those who “hook” when they write, i.e., curl their hands around so the pencil points toward the bottom of the page. The latter group, which is thought to comprise about 60 percent of all left-handed writers, is considered the hard-core element, in the sense that their neurological organization (according to the theory, at least) is substantially different from that of the general run of mankind. > > You undoubtedly recall that in humans you have what we call “contralateral neural control”–this scientific jive just slays me–in which the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. In addition, in most people–righties and nonhooking lefties, anyway–the writing hand is located on the opposite side of the body from the brain’s language center. In hooking left-handers, though, the writing hand and the language center supposedly are both located on the left side. > > This means that one side of the brain is taking care of business on both sides of the body (writing on the left, everything else on the right), which means it has to work harder than usual, which means it ends up either (a) extremely adept, or (b) extremely beat. > > This may explain the statistically documented fact that lefties tend to be either geniuses or idiots. I should know, because I’m a hooking left-hander myself. > > –CECIL ADAMS Me too. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/31 "2004-03-07T11:52:50Z")
Another left handed doper here. I don’t consider myself disabled. In fact the idea made me LOL. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/32 "2004-03-07T15:49:43Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Disability is a word with meaning beyond simply lack of or lessened ability. Neither is a drunk or a dope fiend. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/33 "2004-03-07T15:51:57Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > No, left handedness is not a disability. In fact, left-handedness is not even a born trait, contradictory to popular belief. Handedness is learned. The notion of brain hemisphere dominance is a pseuodoscience. It is not a pseudoscience. You are merely ignorant. I suggest that you abandon non-indexes like Google and use Medline to research the REAL scientific literature directly. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/34 "2004-03-07T16:00:44Z")
In a world of non-handed tools, left-handedness would pose no disability. However, left-handedness can result in a _de facto_ disability that is more due to mindlessness and thoughtlessness on the part of the right-handed majority and any innate physical deficiency on the part of right-handers. I adore it when some poor, fumble-fingered right-hander (and most of them are so undextrous) must work in an area that I’ve set up for myself. I can use their setups with very little difficulty, but those poor inferior, clumsy right-handers are helpless when faced with a left-handed setup. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/35 "2004-03-07T16:17:55Z")
We leftys are often more creative that those boring rightys. Is it that the 2 traits are linked, or has living in a backward world required us to become creative? Even though I write and eat with my left hand, most other tasks I perform with my right or either hand. I craft stained glass, and I solder with either hand. When I was in first grade, I would print to the middle of the paper with my left hand, then switch to the right. I got yelled at. The teacher said she didn’t care which I used, but I must only use one. I still don’t understand why. ---
**Author:** ![chattywine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@chattywine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chattywine)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/36 "2004-03-07T16:19:45Z")
Another lefty checking in, by no means disabled or whatever the PC word is supposed to be. Sure there have been a few bothers along the lines of the school desks/work stations set up for righties. But in the end I’ve found we adapt well. So I turn the paper to a ‘funny’ angle when writing, helps avoid those ink smears! Never had a problem driving a stick, actually learned to drive in one . Only real oddity I’ve ever noticed is I have difficulty remembering telephone numbers or combinations for locks if dialing with my left hand. Anyone else notice if this happens to them too? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/37 "2004-03-07T17:03:38Z")
Another lefty here. I find it somewhat more difficult learning from and teaching to the usual right-handers the hand skills involved in the use of various tools. Secondly, I have this compulsive concern with hand cleanliness in case I’m called upon to shake hands. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/38 "2004-03-07T18:23:20Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > As for left handed products, they are available. I’m sure you can find at least one company selling foam hands with WWJD printed on them too. 10% of people are lefties, but if manufacturers who make just left handed products, or make right handed objects and left handed ones both, even account for 1 ten thousandth of a percent of the total manufacturers, I’d be shocked. Not only are there pitifully few companies even making the things, you have to buy virtually all leftie products online so you pay two or three times as much as you would for a rightie product, _and_ shipping _and_ wait weeks to get it. I’d like a new glass 2 cup measuring cup. If I bought a right-handed one I could go to a department today and pay $5-7 for it. Or I could get a leftie one and pay $20 for it and get it next month. :rolleyes: I know that most people making things won’t make them for us too because they’re afraid of not selling them, but I bet if they made a big deal over their products being leftie-friendly people would snap them up, given the biggest reason left-handed products “don’t sell” is that we don’t expect there to be any. It’s hard to sell something people don’t know exist… > [@pkbites](#): > > While I don’t consider myself disabled, I can remember a time when lefties were considered almost as such. And I’m only 43. Perhaps that’s why my coworker thinks of himself as disabled? He must be in his 50s since I know his son who is a few years older than me. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/39 "2004-03-07T23:02:03Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > We leftys are often more creative that those boring rightys. Cite? And not a psuedo-scientific site, please, but one supported by empirical research. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792/40 "2004-03-07T23:26:24Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > Really? I played field hockey for years without noticing any difficulty due to my left-handedness. (In fact, hockey influenced me so much that I play right-handed at cricket and golf.) Well that’s exactly what I mean. As far as I know field hockey is the only game you can’t play lefthanded, no lefthanded hockey sticks, no free hits with your right shoulder pointed at goal. My former boss was lefthanded and like you ended up playing golf righthanded when he took it up because his years of hockey had forced him to learn to hit like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-disabled/232792.md?page=3)