Pain of being left-handed in a right-handed society

Aristotle, the father of Western critical thought, Leonardo da Vinci, Oprah Winfrey, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Fidel Castro, George Bush, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and Uhuru Kenyatta all have one thing in common. Not that they are great men and a woman, but because all of them are left-handed!

Is there something special about being left handed? It is a question that has given rise to many myths about left handed people.

Interestingly, in a majority of cultures the world over, left-handed people are a stigmatised minority. Left is associated with femininity while right in linked to masculinity.

In many of our cultures, when giving direction, we talk about the female side and male side of the road. Patriarchal structures have ways of twisting the truth to preserve masculine hegemony.

In some cultures of Africa, people view left-handedness as a sign of evil, while in Japan it can be enough reason for divorce. Many myths in our cultures in Africa regard left-handedness as something unacceptable and evil. Languages have ways of carrying these beliefs about left-handedness. In Latin, the word left is synonymous with “sinister”, while in Spanish the word for left is linked with “malicious”. The French word for left is synonymous with “awkward”. In English, the word left comes from the Anglo-Saxon word luft, which means weak or broken.

The holy books have not been left out in stigmatising left-handedness.  The Bible, specifically the book of Judges, associates left-handedness with war-like tendencies.

We also know of many sayings that are negative in reference to left handedness, for instance left wing and a left-handed compliment.

But what brings about left handedness?

It is, therefore, possible to argue that left handed people are a minority that deserves attention. They suffer at the hands of right handed people who do not recognise their special needs

Some insensitive teachers are known to punish left handed children and force them to write using their right hands.

It is, however, notable that in Western cultures, the discrimination of left-handed people is almost over due to the enlightenment of the society.

But what brings about left handedness? Experts remain unsure of how handedness emerges in children.

However, a number of reasons have been advanced to explain why majority of people in all societies are right-handed. In terms percentage, less than 10 percent of the world population is left handed and majority of them are males.

Evolutionary theory attempts to explain this phenomenon by suggesting that during the early ages, primitive hunters needed to protect their most vital organ of the body — the heart — and their left hand was used to hold the shield. The right hand was used to hold the sword or knife and because of this it acquired greater agility, which was passed down through the generations.

An equally useful theory

This theory, therefore, explains why more men would be right-handed than women. Other studies have also revealed that the left-handedness of children is an inherited trait. It is common if one parent is left-handed and more common if both parents are left handed.

An equally useful theory that tries to explain this phenomenon is the brain hemisphere theory. It postulates that the preference of using one side of the body more than the other in performing special tasks depends on which brain hemisphere is dominant. In most people, the left hemisphere controls speaking and handy work and that is why right-handedness is common.

It further argues that left-handed people are controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain.

Some researchers claim that left-handed people are more intelligent and eloquent than the right-handed people.

It is argued that there are more left-handed people with IQs of over 140 than right-handed people.

Captivatingly, other studies reveal that left-handed people are more unlikely to suffer from disorders of the immune system.

It is amazing that as we open up democratic space, groups of disadvantaged people are coming out to demand their rights, yet left handed people have remained an unorganised lot seemingly contented with their place in society.

They have failed to organise and collectively bargain for their right and forge a sense of common identity.

Our concern is, however, with left-handed children in our schools who are discriminated against by social, education and religious institutions. Insensitive teachers sometimes force them to use their right hand. It has been reported that some teachers in the past would tie the child’s left arm behind the back to make the right hand the only usable hand.

Our society has to care for its minorities. That is why left handed people should be treated as people with special needs, just like the gifted. In schools, teachers should be trained to handle this group of people so that they are not subjected to any form of discrimination or stigmatization.

In view of the fact that studies have found that this group of individuals comprise of intelligent and creative people, we need to revisit our curriculum in order for it to take care of their unique potentialities.

We have to put in place structures that will create a learner-friendly environment for left handed children. Desks should also be designed to cater for their unique needs.

Special pens and writing materials should be provided specifically for this group of children. More importantly, we should re-train teachers to appreciate the fact that pupils are gifted in different ways, and it is their duty to help pupils to put to use these gifts.

Prof Kabaji is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Planning, Research and Innovation) at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), while Dr Misigo Lushya teaches Educational Psychology at Moi University