Introduction

At a New Year’s Party in my apartment, my neighbour, a middle-aged woman, constantly stared at me while I was eating. After a while, she came up to me and said that she felt ‘uncomfortable’ seeing me eat. When I told her that I’ve always been a left-handed person, she replied, ‘If your mother had tied your left hand since childhood, then you would have become used to using your right hand.’ My left-handedness was seen as my mother’s incompetence in training me as a child. This is just one of the numerous instances that I and many other left-handed people face. Handedness, hence, is not merely a biological orientation; rather is deeply encoded with social stigma, religious symbolism and how things for everyday use are designed.

Left-Handedness and Stigma

Britannica Encyclopaedia describes ‘handedness’ as ‘a tendency to use one hand rather than the other to perform most activities’. What determines handedness, however, has long been the subject of debate. While some consider it primarily a neurological trait, sociologist Robert Hertz (1937) argues that both brain function and external social influences play a role in shaping a person’s dominant hand. From a young age, individuals are often systematically trained to use their right hand. The left hand, as Hertz puts it, is ‘repressed and kept inactive, its development methodically thwarted’. A phenomenological study conducted by Yusra Masud and M. Asir Ajmal looks at various forms and sources of suppression of left-handed people, like ‘suppression at home, suppressive relatives, oppression by teacher’s, suppression by religious people, cultural/social factors, educational factors of suppression’ (Masud and Ajmal, 2012).

In a few conversations that I had with left-handed people with regards to this paper suggested that these early social pressures continue to be deeply entrenched. Many respondents shared how teachers, elders, and family members actively discouraged the use of their left hand, insisting that only the right hand was appropriate or “correct.” Some were even forced to switch, and in the process, they became ambidextrous. Others recalled how their left-handedness was treated with suspicion or concern, where one respondent told how her parents took her to a doctor, only to be reassured that her condition was entirely normal.

This experience of correction and control points to a broader social stigma attached to left-handedness. Erving Goffman defines ‘stigma’ as an attribute that is ‘deeply discrediting’, and argues that an attribute is not inherently discreditable; its meaning comes from how it contrasts with what is socially accepted. In this light, left-handedness is not biologically problematic, but since it deviates from the socially constructed ‘normal’, left-handers often become objects of curiosity, skepticism, or judgment, facing questions like ‘How do you eat with your left hand?’ or ‘How is it possible for you to write with your left hand?’.

Left-handedness falls into what Goffman calls ‘discreditable stigma’, because it remains unnoticed until an action such as writing or eating makes it apparent. This creates a kind of social anxiety, and some of my respondents admitted feeling awkward or ashamed in public settings. One recalled being scolded at a village gathering for eating with her left hand, as an older woman remarked that it reflected poorly on her upbringing. Another shared how a professor’s sudden question about her handedness in the middle of the lecture left her embarrassed. A quotidian act, such as that of writing in such cases, becomes a spectacle.

Some respondents, however, also recalled the reverse of the above experiences. They were told that being left-handed meant they must be intelligent, creative, or good at math. While these assumptions may seem flattering, they, too, reduce people to a set of simplistic ideas based on a single attribute. These narratives encourage us to look at handedness as something more than being just a physical trait, almost making it a social identity shaped by cultural norms, stigma, and everyday interactions.

Left-Handedness in the Sacred

Across various religions and cultures, there are rules laid out in the use of hands, where the right hand symbolises purity, auspiciousness, and divine favour, while the left hand is associated with impurity, misfortune, or even disrespect. These associations are not just symbolic but extend to shape ritual practices, social norms, and the everyday experiences of left-handed individuals.

For instance, in Hinduism, the right hand is considered sacred and appropriate for religious offerings. Rituals like abhishek (sacred anointing) must be performed using the right hand, and during wedding ceremonies, brides are told to enter with their right foot forward; entering with the left is considered an apshagun (inauspicious sign). The aarti is ideally performed with both hands in a clockwise direction, but if one hand is to be used, the right is preferred. Respondents in my conversations shared how their left-handedness invited correction or even scolding from elders during such rituals. In such cases, their natural impulses clashed with these culturally prescribed practices.

However, it is interesting to note that death rituals are one of those rare contexts where the use of the left hand is acceptable. For example, while performing the last rites, the sacred thread that usually runs from the left shoulder to the right is reversed, and participants circumambulate the funeral pyre in an anti-clockwise direction.

Similar symbolic associations are present in Islam and Christianity. In the Qur’an Shareef and the Holy Bible, Masud and Ajmal note, it is believed that God’s chosen people and favourites sit on its right-hand side and the ruins on its left. In Islam, each hand is assigned its task- using the right hand is sunnah and is assigned for ‘cleaner’ activities like eating or reading the Qur’an Shareef; whereas the left is assigned for tasks such as cleaning after defecation. It is prohibited to touch the holy scriptures using the left hand.

How and why the use of the right hand is given more preference in different religions and cultures all over the world is a matter of contestation. It can be said that since a majority of people in the world are right-handers, the rituals are designed in a way that normalises the right hand as superior, while implicitly marginalising those who are left-handed.

Left-Handedness in the Everyday

A good majority of things and tools required to carry out day-to-day activities are designed keeping in mind that they suit the world, with a majority of right-handed people. As Lauren Julius Harris notes in her work ‘Cultural Influences on Handedness: Historical and Contemporary Theory and Evidence’ (1990), the preference for the right hand has existed since prehistoric times, which is evident in artwork, tools, and artefacts. Cultural practices reinforce this norm, especially from early childhood, where children are frequently corrected for using their left hand in tasks like writing or eating. All over the world, sanctions are imposed on people when they make gestures, such as shaking hands with their left hand, and public speaking traditions have historically emphasised right-hand usage, with figures like Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, an oratory teacher, formalising such norms during the Renaissance. The orators were made to wear a toga to restrict the movement of their left hand, while the right side was left free.

Harris notes how right-handers have designed the built environment ‘in their dextral image’ (Harris,1990). From desks and notebooks to everyday tools like scissors and door handles, most items are designed for right-handed use. Left-handed students, for instance, struggle with standard school desks that provide arm support only on the right, often forcing them into uncomfortable postures. Though some institutions have introduced left-handed desks, access remains limited and unequal. Similarly, spiral-bound notebooks disrupt left-handers’ writing flow and create discomfort. Respondents added that since left-handers have a different style of writing, they usually have to turn the paper at a 180° angle, often leading to ridicule for their writing posture or difficulty in concealing their answers during exams. Even driving, a routine task, can pose challenges due to the standard vehicle configurations. The computer mice and keyboard shortcuts also continue to favour right-handers.

The arts and sports reflect similar biases. Musical instruments like the guitar and violin are generally designed for right-handed playing. One of my respondents described how she was rejected outright from learning guitar and how rare it is to find instructors willing to adapt. Another respondent shared that she had to face a lot of challenges in learning calligraphy because the tools- pens and brushes were not meant for easy use for left-handers. A few of my respondents also shared how in sports like badminton and basketball, they have often been instructed to avoid using their left hand, which posed a challenge to them. A respondent recalled her experience during a badminton tournament, where many of her peers were surprised and she was repeatedly asked, ‘How is being a left-hander possible?’.

Despite these disadvantages, left-handers have an edge in certain fields. Peterson and Lansky (1974), in their study ‘Left-handedness Among Architects: Some Facts And Speculation’, found a higher proportion of left-handers among architecture students and professionals. The study also noted superior performance by left-handed students in spatial reasoning tasks, such as drawing complex mazes.

Overall, the daily experiences of left-handed individuals reflect a systemic bias embedded in both cultural expectations and the physical environment. While some progress has been made in acknowledging and accommodating left-handedness, significant disparities remain. These insights underline the importance of inclusive design and cultural sensitivity towards physical difference.

References:

Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Prentice-Hall.

Harris, L. J. (1990). Cultural influences on handedness: Historical and contemporary theory and evidence. In S. Coren (Ed.), Left-handedness: Behavioural implications and anomalies (pp. 195–258). North-Holland.

Hertz, R. (1973). The pre-eminence of the right hand. In R. Needham (Ed.), Right and left: Essays on dual symbolic classification (pp. 3–21). University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1909).

Masud, Y., & Ajmal, A. M. (2012). Left-handed people in a right-handed world: A phenomenological study. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 10(1), 49–60.

Needham, R. (1960). The left hand of the Mugwe: An analytical note on the structure of Meru symbolism. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 30(1), 20–33.

Peterson, J. M., & Lansky, L. M. (1974). Left-handedness among architects: Some facts and speculation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38(2), 547–550.

***

Sahya Sharma has pursued an MA in Sociology at the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics (DSE), University of Delhi.