Here’s Why Lefties Were Forced to Use Their Right Hand
Updated: Aug. 05, 2024
Not only were many natural-born lefties forced to become righties, but there was plenty of left-handed punishment throughout history as a result
Why are most people right-handed? Part of it may involve the way our brains are wired, but another part of it has to do with societal conditioning and the fact that people are often afraid of those who are different. Historically, this has been true of right-handed people in relation to lefties. In fact, despite there being plenty of famous left-handed people, this fear has led to left-handed punishment throughout history, where lefties were retrained to use their right hand—a practice that we now know is cruel.
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.”
Are you a leftie curious about why left-handed people have faced mistreatment over the years, or are you simply fascinated by interesting facts like this? Either way, keep reading to discover the history of left-handed punishment. We’ll unravel the myths and stereotypes surrounding lefties and reveal the surprising consequences they endured for being caught using their left hand.
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Why was left-handedness historically viewed as problematic?
Scholar or not, everyone knows that lefties are at a disadvantage when it comes to tools, customs and pretty much anything else. Plus, there are plenty of times you shouldn’t use your left hand. 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.
Left-handedness was believed to be a precursor to mental illness
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.
Left-handedness was seen as demonic
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.
Using your left hand was a sign of disrespect
In several cultures, the left hand is still believed to be the unclean or improper hand, according to the prevailing etiquette rules. 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.
Being left-handed meant you were not marriage material
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, but children used to receive some form of punishment or physical restraint for using their left hand.
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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”
Originally Published: July 22, 2019
