Left-Handed People Share Their Biggest Struggles In A Right-Handed World

Arguably one of the best depictions of left-handed people is Ned Flanders from The Simpsons. In the show, he opens his "Leftorium", which unfortunately goes out of business pretty quickly. Similar struggles exist for left-handed people in the non-cartoon world, and are continually ignored in a predominantly right-handed world.

u/SergeantGroosh asked: Left handed people, what are some hurdles you face in a a right handed dominant world?


A whole different method.

Having to teach myself how to hold a pencil. In Ms. Clayton's defense, I don't think she'd ever had a leftie in her class before, but I basically had to figure it out on my own.

Should also mention, the way you write with the left hand is WAY different than how you write with the right since you push the pencil instead of pulling it.

CUrlymafurly

The struggle.

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When the delivery guy needs a signature and tries to force the pen into your right hand.

sbutler87

And attached pens with chains too short to reach the left side.

Jeopardyanimal

Most don't even think about that.

Having to use your non-dominant hand for handshakes, scissors, notebooks with large rings, inky pens (getting it all over the side of your hand/pinkie finger), phone apps optimised for the right hand, writing on whiteboards without rubbing off the pen.

daisypalace

Cut it out!

Scissors. Universal does not mean universal.

jaydub54

Some people are a**holes.

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Does anyone else find that they have left and right handed ways of doing things? For instance, I write left handed, throw left handed, but bat and golf right handed, and use right handed scissors. Although archery is left handed. But screw those desks in school with the arm rest on the right side.

I once found a desk in one class with a left side armrest but someone was already sitting in it. When I asked if I could sit there as I'm left handed and made for people like me he was like, "screw you I got here first." Then proceeded to always complain about how his right arm got tired all the time.

OlliverClozzoff

That's annoying.

"WhOa, YoU'rE lEfT haNdEd?!?!?!?!"

-People you've known for years and have said this to you several times over the years.

AwkwardSquirtles

That must be difficult.

Currently, as the only person that's left-handed in my household, it's learning how to crochet and knit. My mom does both a lot, and has tried to teach me quite a few times, but I can't get the hang of it since I'm trying to copy what she's doing but "backwards."

Otherwise, I have the distinct memory in middle school where I was all alone at a station for the golf segment of P.E. because they only had one lefty club and I was the only left handed person in that group of kids. That, and finding a lefty baseball mitt was weird because other kids would take it not thinking about it.

Littledreamer35

It's not a quirk.

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Scissors is a big one.

Also getting graphite or ink on your hand from writing.

Everything is right hand - oriented. Everything from cars to doors, to placement of trash cans, you don't really realize these things until you do.

Also my left-handedness being seen as some kind of crazy quirk.

UlfarrOT

Oof.

Trying to sign an office birthday card without smudging what everybody else has written.

CloffWrangler

Oh no!

My wife and I are both left handed and have 2 right handed daughters. Needless to say, they did not get a head start on learning to write.

eviljason

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