General healthcare

Being 'lefty' - Left handedness

Left handedness

What is left-handedness? Left or Right, which is the right hand to use? While some may argue that right is always the more appropriate and correct hand to use, others may argue that the opposite hand or the left hand is the more appropriate and correct one to use. While one may argue about the percentage of lefties on this universe, there is no denying that there are more rightist in the world. As rare as phenomenon the usage of a left hand may be, one cannot simply be oblivious to the fact that they do exist, while for those un-informed, “left-handedness, is a term used specifically for the people who prefer to use their left hand over their right hand”. Being a lefty is an extremely rare phenomenon, as only 10% of the total world population is considered to be that.

Published Jan 07, 2022

Being a lefty can be difficult, especially when you are the only one, out there in school, college or even in your office, who uses his left hand. However, could this have a genetic or medical link to it? According to an article published in Wikipedia, there are various attributing factors to a person being lefty or not, what are those? Let’s find out:

Though handedness has a very complex inheritance pattern, there are certain factors contributing towards it, for e.g. if both the parents are lefty, there is roughly a 26% chance that their offspring may be lefty too.

There are numerous studies carried out, to find out whether, there is a genetic factor attached to it or not. While the studies are not 100% conclusive, one common conclusion is that there are roughly 24% chances, that the child may be a lefty.

The exposure of fertility drugs in utero, more often than not can also cause the child to be a lefty, this phenomenon is more frequent in males and this fact has been studied upon by the Centers for Disease Control, in the year 2003

Though there have been many claims of lefties having less life expectancy than their right handed counterparts, nothing has been proven in concrete. While various universities have also tried to compare the incomes of right-handed v/s left-handed people, many of those studies have established that there is no link between handedness and one’s ability to earn. While one can argue this fact, there are conflicting theories based upon this conclusion.

Being a righty may be considered a norm in almost every profession in the world but in sports being lefty is considered to be a norm, most interactive sports such as tennis, badminton and cricket have a huge number of left-handed players.

Being a lefty is definitely not an easy task, especially when you are surrounded by righties, though being lefty may very well be special; it is generally looked down upon by most of the population in the world. There is considerable bias against left-handed people. Being left-handed generally has a negative connotation attached to it.

Throughout history, left-handed people have been encouraged to switch to being right-handed to try and fit in to this world. In some cultures, being left-handed is also considered to be unlucky, awkward, and clumsy but now times are changing and more and more people are embracing being left handed. 13th of August, is celebrated as International Left Handed Day, to promote the use of your left hand and also help increase awareness about left-handed people.

Being a left-handed boy or a girl may not be a norm, but is also not a crime and requires no treatment. Embrace being a lefty, accept that you are unique and not abnormal.