Day 4358: Forced to use right hand, TBT Kangieko 2006.

"Zones": junk, tissue paper collage.

  

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2GN2S

 "I was forced to use my right hand."

I am now right handed, but I remember being changed. (WW is a natural leftie). Not only were many natural-born lefties forced to become righties, but there was plenty of left-handed punishment throughout history as a result. Because the majority of the population—approximately 90%, according to research—is right-handed, there has been a prevailing bias against those whose left hand is their dominant one. The right-hander’s bias against the southpaw has even worked its way into languages all across the globe—like the word sinister actually means “left”; the German word linkisch(related to the left) means “awkward”; and the Mandarin Chinese words for left have become synonymous with “wrong” and “incorrect.” Our world has been engineered and designed with righties in mind, for everything from using scissors to sports equipment. As noted above, this wasn’t arbitrary. Here’s why left-handedness was seen as problematic throughout history.

Back in the day, many lefties were retrained to use their right hand because people thought that being left-handed was an indication that they would develop a mental illness later in life. In reality, Howard I. Kushner, a professor at Emory University and the author of On the Other Hand: Left Hand, Right Brain, Mental Disorder, and History, found the opposite to be true. Right-handed adults forcing left-handed children to alter and reject their natural behavior led to the development of conditions such as stuttering and attention disorders.

In medieval times and well beyond, stern Catholics believed that being left-handed was a sign of the devil or witchcraft. Because of this, left-handed history punishments included execution. Even during the 18th and 19th centuries, punishment meant tying a child’s left hand behind a chair. Three famous examples are King George VI, who was forced to learn to write with his right hand and developed a stutter; President Harry S. Truman; and, potentially, President Ronald Reagan.

In some cultures, the left hand is still believed to be the unclean or improper hand, according to the prevailing etiquette rules., so disrespectful. When visiting Islamic countries, for instance, always remember to shake hands and eat with your right hand. In these cultures, the left hand is thought to be dirty, as it is the hand that washes the body, and therefore should never make contact with another person to whom you wish to show respect.

Japanese culture has historically held the belief that being left-handed is a curse or bad omen. According to the Japan Times, it is commonly thought that lefties have a harder time finding a spouse. This is why many parents have retrained—and some still continue to retrain—their children to use their right hand instead. In the past couple of decades, the practice of retraining lefties has died down.

Sources:

• Japan Times: “Lefties push back against Japan’s ‘righteous’ spin”
• Science Direct: “Why are there (almost) no left-handers in China?”
• Time: “How Lefties First Gained Acceptance”
• History.com: “The First Left-handed President Was Ambidextrous and Multilingual”
• Smithsonian Magazine: “Two-Thirds of the World Still Hates Lefties”
• Business Insider: “8 presidents you had no idea were left-handed”
• John Hopkins University Press: “Stuttering and ‘Retraining” Left-Handed Children in Mid-Century U.S.”
• The Lancet: “The art of medicine”

Throwback Thursday ...

Demura Sensei

 

with members of his Genbu-Kai Costa Mesa Dojo

Louis Perez, Shayla Van Wormer, Jake Spielberger, Brandon Nomura

Demura Sensei, Jared Stanton, Cheyenne Lopez, Tess Bernstein

After Kangieko Training, Huntington Beach, CA  January 8, 2006

 

  

 

A 7 minute special video, Pawo  here

 

 

 

  

 

Just because ...

  

 

Chihuahuan Raven

  

 

Thursday's Smiles ...