Being left-handed has struggles most people disregard

Living as a silent minority is something I’ve learned to handle

Being+left-handed+has+struggles+most+people+disregard

When I was 11, I received my first pair of left-handed scissors.Specifically designed for a left-handed person’s use, they are truly a beautiful thing. A majority of the world’s population, 90 percent to be specific, is right-handed.

Illustration by Avery Sheltra

Simple things like using regular scissors, trying to find that mysterious left handed baseball glove, deciding where to sit at the table or using a standard notebook can be a challenge for a left-handed person. While right-handed people might not find these challenges significant, they still need to be aware of them.

Way back when, during the Middle Ages, being left-handed could get a person accused of witchcraft. This stigma has lasted all the way to at least the 1950’s, when my great aunt was in school. She was left-handed and was therefore thought of as different. In grade school, she had her left hand tied behind her back until she could use her right hand just as well as her left. This superstition of left-handedness being seen as wrong or unnatural has been seen in education, even when there was no proof to support the claim.

Now I know things have significantly changed over the years, seeing as no one has ever accused me of participating in witchcraft when I use left-handed scissors, but left-handed people are still left out in the cold when it comes to product convenience. I still have trouble using those pesky things called scissors, or heaven forbid I try to use my notebook in a way that doesn’t make my handwriting look like chicken scratch.

Now while the left-handed people of the world wait for our salvation in the form of mass produced, over-priced products designed specifically for our comfort, I encourage all the fortunate right-handed people out there to remember this: You might not find these problems significant in any way, but they are still a fact of life for left-handed people.

 

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