Historically, left-handedness has often been misunderstood and stigmatised. Although left-handedness is purely hereditary, it was historically viewed as bad, dirty, even evil, and later as a form of rebellion against conformity. Particularly in educational settings, where the one left-handed boy or girl in a classroom stood out simply for being different. Me as a child apart from being left longer after classes to write extra lines “more neatly”, bashing elbows with others at school desks and having problems in my calligraphy classes as a student in an Art school. I count myself fortunate to have avoided most of these “conversion” efforts in my education. On the contrary, my left-handedness was often viewed as an asset, a reflection of my creativity – as if it endowed me with something extra, an unspoken gift.
That said, I’ve heard plenty of horror stories from others. In some places, the challenges persist to this day. For example, schools in China actively discourage left-handed writing, leading to a strikingly low percentage of left-handers – just 2.64% of the population. In the United States, until recently, school desks with right-handed armrests were common, negatively impacting the exam performance of left-handed students.
Living in a right-handed world has made left-handed people remarkably adaptive. Many of us develop a “solution-finder” mindset, knowing that standard tools, instructions, and processes often won’t work for us as they do for others. This independence fosters resilience. Rather than asking for help, left-handers frequently improvise and innovate to meet challenges head-on.
Take my own experience, for instance: growing up, I never complained about the right-handed potato peeler in my parents’ kitchen; I simply used my right hand. I didn’t buy my first pair of left-handed scissors until I was well into my forties. These small accommodations may seem trivial, but they are a daily reality for left-handers. I truly believe that many right-handed people don’t fully grasp the extent of the constant adaptation left-handed individuals undertake. To those who are curious, I offer a simple challenge: try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Then, imagine doing that with countless other tasks every single day. Perhaps this will be a conversation for another book. For now, let’s focus on making knitting one less challenge for left-handed people to navigate through.
