As a proud left-handed person, aka "Lefty," one of the many nicknames my step-dad used to call me… (Cantaloupe was another nickname that came from a Pewee Herman episode when he eats a bite of Cantaloupe and exclaims "MMMM…Melanie") HA! Anyway, my right handed husband and most people, seem to think that whether the tools that we use - think scissors, knives, and other kitchen tools - does not actually matter if it is deemed to be for a lefty. Side note, 10% of the population is left handed and has been for most of history, the numbers go up and down just a little, but the average has been 10% since they started recording it. It is a trait that has some importance in our evolution, or it would have been gone a long time ago. Anyway, I’ll tell you that tools matter.
For my patternmaking class in 2022, which I totally loved and was a star student, I had to buy some new tools for school. I did find some of the recommended tools made for lefty’s. Especially important was new left-handed fabric scissors, but I also was told to get a rotary cutter that would make cutting fabric easier than scissors. So I bought one and it was a great tool. And it got even better when I had a revelation one day in class and learned that I could change the side that the blade was on and BOOM, I could SEE the cutting side. That’s what makes scissors and cutting things hard for lefty’s because the cutting side needs to be on the left!
Lefty's have been shown to possess a few different qualities such as creativity, imagination, daydreaming and intuition. We have a resiliency and I think it is partially because we are forced to do things that are uncomfortable or awkward…an easy example is sitting next to a right-handed person at dinner and bumping into their elbow when eating. If it’s a table of all right-handed people this would never happen not likely not even a thought. Introduce a lefty and I’m sure that person is thinking about where to sit as to not hit someone with their arm. Seriously something all us lefty’s do.
I'm going to add a series to WOMM that's dedicated to sharing with you things that impact me just navigating this right-handed world that I live in. Because such a small percentage of us exist, yes I'm sounding like we're threatened and endangered species, but there are just things that we face that you, probably right-handed, haven't faced and haven't even considered. Thus, I raise your awareness.
Here I bring you the left-handed fish flipper. It really helps me make a perfect flip on this seasoned tilapia. The angle is opposite. And that matters!
