Today is International Left Handers Day, ‘the 22nd annual celebration of lefthanders’ superiority’. It’s an opportunity for ‘Lefties’ and their Right-handed supporters to highlight the discrimination they face from the Dextrous majority.
‘Getting right handers to do everything left-handed for the day is a great way to make the point!’ suggests its website.
Some Righties may object to having a left-hand index finger wagged at them in this fashion, but my problem with Left Handers Day is that it isn’t inclusive enough. (That and the missing apostrophe.)
Why are Ambidextrous (AD) people excluded from this exercise? What about the prejudice they confront as they switch their pen from right to left – or, more controversially, from left to right, a gesture condemned as ‘collaborationist’ by militant Left Hand (LH) activists? What about the scorn of sceptics who say there’s no such thing as ambidexterity, merely RH people ‘experimenting’ or LH people trying to conform?
Which brings us to the most despised minority of all, those who neither identify as RH, LH or AD, but choose to change their handedness. The Transhand (TH) community face mockery from those whose ‘handed’ identity matches their anatomical handedness at birth — that is, ‘cishanded’ people or ‘cis’, as they are known in TH circles.
The only solution is true even-handedness. Left Handers Day is an anachronism that disses other hand minorities. Next year’s event should be a radically inclusive celebration of the entire LHADTH community. Can I have a show of hands (either or both) in favour?
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