August 2022 Parenta magazine

International Left
What do Brad Pitt, Martina Navratilova,
Barack Obama and Matt Groening, the
creator of The Simpsons, have in common?
Yes, you’ve guessed it, they are all lefthanded,
and on August 13th this and every
year, they have the chance to join with
other left-handed people in the UK and
around the world to celebrate International
Left Handers Day. It’s a day to celebrate
the differences and distinctiveness of
left-handed individuals and was first
celebrated by the founder of Lefthanders
International, Inc., Dean. R. Campbell, in
1976. That year, the 13th August fell on
a Friday, and was chosen deliberately
to counter the superstitions and myths
surrounding left-handed people.
We’ve come a long way since the 1600s
when many left-handed people were
thought to be in league with the devil
and were sometimes tried for witchcraft.
However, whilst our superstitions may
have changed, the way we set up our
world in terms of hand preference, has
not. If you are right-handed, then the world
will seem pretty ‘normal’ to you. But if you
are left-handed, the chances are that you
will be reminded on a daily basis how the
world is set up for everyone other than
you!
Think about some of the ways that we
have set up our world for right-handed
people: