Right hand privilege is wrong

Right hand privilege is wrong.  

What does that mean?  It means right handed people are unaware of their unearned privilege.  It means they should be aware that there are left handed people, and that societal norms, design of objects and everyday behaviours should not be done solely for the benefit of right handed people.

In starting this blog, I am not claiming that the right handed privilege is comparable to racism, sexism or other forms of discrimination.  I'm not even calling it organized discrimination.  And this is definitely not intended to be confrontational.  What I am calling it, however, is a lack of consideration the one in seven people who are left handed, and I am calling for right handed people to think about it.

For adults, right handed privilege is generally a minor issue, except perhaps where dangerous machinery is involved and left handed people are forced to used things with the wrong hand instead of the left hand.  The biggest annoyances I have are ones I can work around.

For children, though, right handed privilege is a major issue.  Materials in classrooms - books, desks, various objects - are designed for right handed people.  But even if objects weren't a consideration, the attitude of teachers, schools, parents and societies are.  Children are still forced and harassed to switch hands against their nature, a topic I will go into in other posts.