We have found a witch, may we burn her?
How do you know she is a witch?
She looks like one!
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail”
Hmm… what exactly does a witch look like?
The sad truth is that by most estimates, up through the 1700s, 40,000 or more people were executed under suspicion of practicing witchcraft; based primarily upon their religious beliefs, independent or rebellious behaviors, and some interesting physical characteristics including… left-handedness.
Being a southpaw myself, I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by societal views of left-handedness. However, it was not until I read a recent news article that I came to understand that left-handers have been feared and persecuted for thousands of years.
In the English language, the term left is derived from the Anglo-Saxon lyft meaning to be weak or broken. But it’s not just limited to the English language: The German for “left-handed’ is linkisch, which means awkward, clumsy, and maladroit. In Italian, mancino is derived from crooked or maimed. In Russian, to be called a left-hander (levja) is a term of insult.
Sheesh!!
It’s a wonder that left-handedness hasn’t been wiped out – after all only 10% of the population is left-handed. However, scholars note it appears we’ve held steady at this percentage for about 30,000 years (Coren, Stanley. 1992. The Left-Hander Syndrome: The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness. Detroit, MI: Free Press). Despite the persecution, the fear (left-handedness having once been considered the mark of the devil), and a propensity to be accident prone, we’ve survived. There are a few theories as to why this is true:
- It’s genetic. One premise is that the gene LRRTM1 is a strong contributing factor for left-handedness. Scientists discovered the gene during a study of dyslexic children; it is believed to be inherited from the father. At the most, this seems to account for 25% of all lefties. In my family, the only other leftie I’ve ever been able to identify is my Uncle Tommy, on my mama’s side; so go figure.
- It’s the environment. There might be conditions during pregnancy that contribute to developing into a left-hander. Here is my favorite: left-handers were originally in the womb with a twin that did not survive, or a “Vanishing Twin.” Two of me? I do not think my mother would have survived two teenage Kimbas.
- It’s a choice. For whatever reason, some infants may just chose to be lefties. Are we more rebellious? Are we stubborn? Do we choose to be left-handed because we are more creative? I find this one particularly funny because I can tell you: I was born a leftie. I’ve never been able to do anything right-handed. For me it would be like trying to choose my eye color or my height or my shoe size. My GeeGee tried desperately to teach me to knit. I remember clearly the day she exclaimed, quite exasperated;
Kim, you’re just going to have to choose to knit right-handed.
My response: No Grandma, you’re gonna have to choose to teach me left-handed.
To this day “knit one, purl two” is lost on me.
It’s not all gloom, doom, and bad luck for us lefties – though I admit it’s hard to ignore sayings like this Scottish one: “He’s so unlucky, he must have been baptized by a left-handed priest.” There have in fact been quite a few famous and successful people who are or were left-handed, including: scientists –Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Marie Curie; presidents – four of the past seven have been southpaws including Ford, Bush (Sr.), Clinton, and Obama; and actors such as Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and a personal favorite Hugh Jackman.
I’ll admit, I may have just been looking for any excuse to post a picture of Hugh Jackman here …
The truth is, I like being unique. I like being tall, big footed, green-eyed and yes, left-handed. To celebrate our uniqueness, we even have our own day: August 13th is International Left-Handers Day (I am sure that unlucky thirteen must have been chosen on purpose here). I’m happy to represent just 10% of the population; and have you noticed that I haven’t exactly denied the whole witch thing….
What makes you unique? What characteristics and attributes do you celebrate?
Cheers,
Kimba
Wow, that's amazing! I never even thought about all this. I would guess that left handed people function more from their right brain and then of course that would be why left handed people were thought to be witches! Right brain is all about creative ability and psychic awareness!
New hashtag idea: #embraceyourcreativity
not left-handed… actually, the most "normal" of my siblings is left-handed…
I've got green eyes that slant up and are different shapes… I've learned to turn the left side forward in photos- "only shoot my left side", like Streisand and Claudette Colbert…. LOL
thanks for the provocative post!
Love that your "sanest" sibling is the leftie.
Can't say we have many lefties in our family. Guess we are mostly conventionally wired! It's hard for me to imagine that any young children now would be hounded for using a left hand. Let's hope people's understanding has evolved enough to know not to interfere. Sadly, accepting the unique qualities of every person is not always society's strength….
As the wife, mother and aunt of southpaws, I found this fascinating. My leftie daughter also has red curls, which, when combined with her handedness, definitely makes her a witch!
It doesn't matter to us, she's the funniest, most delightful witch we know.
Wendy, the gal on the cover of my book is sporting reddish brown curls and I would like to think she's a lefty. I'm sure your daughter is a wonderful witch – pls ask her to use her powers for good. 😉
That was really interesting! Boy, the things we do to those who don't conform just right… (hah! – that was not on purpose). Even that expression. Just right. I wonder if it's related to the bias toward right-handedness.
Cheers to all our differences.
Hear hear Susan. Vive la différence!
Ha! I have actively cultivated the use of both my hands in this lifetime… I'm sure that makes me a witch 😉
I also learned TODAY from uber facts that anyone born with a 3rd nipple was also accused and burned for being a witch!
<3
Mimi
I can't imagine being able to use both hands equally – I'm jealous!
When my triplets were little, one of them seemed ( to me) to favor his left hand. I wanted him to be left handed because it would be unique and different. Years ago, left handed people were forced to try and change to being right handed. Thankfully that trend stopped because left handedness is something decided by the brain and trying to change goes against the way the brain is wired.
So, curious – did your son remain left-handed? Hope so!
My sister was left handed; she never did learn to knit.
Unique? I'd say it is my laugh. My kids say they can always find me…anywhere…if I laugh. I turn heads (perhaps not in a good way?) when I am completely amused.
I have a great big laugh too Darlene – AND I laugh at all the wrong places in a movie. It's always funny what I find funny…
My grandmother was left-handed, and they tried desperately to switch her in school, so she did achieve an unwilling ambidextry.
In some research I did, it seems the "prejudice" against left-handers stems back to ancient times, before there was TP. The right hand was traditionally used for grooming, preparing food, etc. – the left hand was used to wipe your a$$. Therefore, to touch someone or prepare food with the "unclean" hand was a deep insult.
Now being left-handed just something interesting, or, in baseball, something potentially quite lucrative.
You're so right (haha, see what I did there) – in most sports now being a leftie is considered an advantage – like baseball, tennis and boxing….
Hi Kimba,
I really love this post! I find this information very interesting being left-handed myself. I remember my mother encouraging me to use my right hand for writing and cutting when I was little. So now I predominantly use my right hand for most things, but feel naturally inclined to use my left hand for things I wasn't taught to (like driving and sports activities sometimes). I think being left handed is pretty cool 🙂
~Christina
Being in the leftie club is indeed way cool.
I love your article. Back in the Dark Ages (the 1950's) they were still switching left-handed children when they started first grade. When my Mother observed me doing left-handed baby things she started switching me then, thinking it would be easier on me than waiting until I was 5. I have no residual left handed skills. However, I've always had challenges with parts to whole, directions that require making a decision about left and right and front and back.A number of years ago I read that studies have shown that those who were switched may have difficulty in those areas. It makes sense to me. I'm not dyslexic with numbers or letter and have always been a high level reader. But give me written instructions to follow to put something together and the end result is not pretty.
Ginny, that is such a leftie trait – left to right and front to back are killers for me too!
Hi Kim, very interesting and original work. I love how you have interwoven various mediums (catching title,images, gifs/video, color, quotes) to present your information. I look forward to more of your writings. Have A Lovely Weekend! -Phyllis
Thanks for stopping by Phyllis – I try to have a little fun with my posts. I am somewhat addicted to gifs and memes….
You always make me smile Kim. Hum, well my sister is a lefty but to be honest I never really gave it much thought one way or the other – as much we tortured each other growing up I'm really surprised I never tapped into that as a resource to ramp things up to a higher level.
As for me, I wouldn't say I celebrate it, but I enjoy helping others feel better about themselves. In another life I had to spend a lot of time in a doctors office and for some unknown reason the way I coped with it was to busy myself making all the other patients feel good and smile. In fact my doctor used to tease me about it all the time. Have no clue where that came from, certainly not my family, but yes, it's a characteristic I feel pretty good about.
Marty that's kinda funny because my kid brother used to tease me about being a leftie. Hope I gave you some material so you can now adequately take on your sister-witch. 😉 And, what a lovely unique gift you have – exceling at helping others.
I am also left handed..
"Left-handers’ brains are structured differently from right-handers’ in ways that can allow them to process language, spatial relations and emotions in more diverse and potentially creative ways."
I've been told there is a higher percentage of counselors who are left handed..
That's very interesting – I've read some about brain wiring being different for righties vs lefties. I wonder why this would happen?
What a fun meditation on being unique! I've been called a "white witch" and "wonderfully weird." Unique people keep society on its toes! Thank you!
All hail the white witch! Weird IS wonderful.
Fun fact: every man in my family (blood relative and non-relative) are left handed. That includes my husband, my son, my brother, my father, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law, 2 nephews, and I think my male cat. Not sure if that means anything, but it definitely beats the 10% odds for me!!
I had NO idea that both Alan and Noah are left-handed! You are surrounded by some terrific guys! You do seem to attract lefties – am I the only lefty gal inyour life? 😉
Attempt #4. Not sure if it's a unique talent. I am very adept at both right and left brain functions. Great computer skills and very creative. I learned I was ambidextrous when I broke my right arm just below my wrist. I'm accepting the fact that I have many talents. I am very grateful.
Julieanne Case
Always from the heart!
Reconnecting you to your Original Blueprint, Your Essence, Your Joy| Healing you from the Inside Out |Reconnective Healing | The Reconnection| Reconnective Art |
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I don't think I've ever known anyone who was mbidextrous – can you write with both hands? I once knew someone who could write in mirror image – write in a way that when you held it up to the mirror you could read it. Now THAT was cool!
It's amazing the silly superstitions and beliefs that are out there. It reminds me of how black cats are still considered bad luck by some. They have no common sense.
Tonya, in the interest of full disclosure, in my crazy Irish family we have all kinds of silly superstitions. But my Irish Dad has a black cat so he seems to have gotten over that one!
Really interesting post. My son is a lefty. My mother is a beaten-out righty (she started school as a lefty, and the teacher would literally smack her hand with a ruler every time she picked up a pencil left handed; that worked). My father-in-law is also a lefty. So, I'll have to share this post with all of them.
Thx for sharing RJ. That term "beaten-out righty" is one I hear about a lot. Glad they don't do that any more ( hope!). YOu have quite a few lefties in your life, lucky!
My mother and father were lefthanded. Two of my four siblings are lefthanded. I, on the other hand, am correctly-handed. My mother was forced to change hands in school, beautiful penmanship and mostly right handed except for fine motor skills like threading a needle, or playing inside linebacker. She didn't "knit one, purl two" either. Wouldn't work for her. Brother mostly wrote upside down with what looked like a palsied hand. Just glad I'm perfect and not flawed like y'all.
Love that your brother writes upside down – me too! And a woman with beautiful handwriting who also throws a mean tackle – I want to party with your Mom!
My Dad was left handed and he was a fabulous man. I always thought it interesting that the word sinister also refers to the left – a : of, relating to, or situated to the left or on the left side of something; especially : being or relating to the side of a heraldic shield at the left of the person bearing it
b : of ill omen by reason of being on the left
Poor lefties. I have actually found most lefties I have known to be quite original thinkers and creative.
There is all kinds of weird forboding and ominous symbolism when it comes to the left side of things. It's kind of fun to research – bu makes me grateful I wasn't running around in the medieval ages!!
There are lefties in my family. I am not one of them. My left-handed mother was also forced to write with her right hand as a schoolgirl and somehow managed to achieve a beautiful cursive script. She does everything else with her left hand. It is good we can celebrate uniqueness today.
I am impressed with your Mom – my handwriting is terrible; but I'm not sure I can blame this on being left-handed…
Love this kim thanks as a right hander who got to be lefthanded for several months a hear or so back I was delight that i could paint- people like my lefthanded hearts- cook with help in the prep department and more.
namste x
OK, now I gotta go see if I can find some of your left-handed hearts…
I have grown surrounded by "lefties" from brother, sister who wrote with their left hand but were "right" for everything else. Then my two daughters are lefties too! I enjoyed reading the various language meanings. Totally agree with you each unique characteric in our personalities is to be celebrated! Enjoying who we are despite cultural opinions.
Wow, you have a lot of lefties in your family! I'm definitely in the minority in my tribe, but it's only really mattered on fishing trips when we have to find a left-handed reel!
I have a left handed son. My husband was left handed and was switched when he went to school.. YES.. they tied his hand to his desk !!
I am unique for many reasons but a big one is a eye condition that gives me cat like pupils !!
Enjoy our uniqueness !
Cat like pupils – I bet that looks awesome! I'm picturing a very Eartha Kitt look for you…