Lefties forced to be right handed, any here?

Years ago when I was born there was a ridiculous idea going around about kids born with left handed having some sort of problem, can't really recall why my Mom said she did this but she used to smack my left hand and force me to use my right hand to the point that I am now right handed, though she is sure i was born a leftie.

I was wondering if anyone here was like me born left handed but forced to use their right hand. And also if anyone knows of any studies done on people like this? After all though my Mom did not realize it she was messing with the wiring in my brain so to speak we are all programmed to have a dominant hand and so the first thing she does is smack me and change it. I forgive her since she thought she was doing what was best for me and for the most part was a good Mom but can't help but think this is a real no no.

they tried to force me to be right handed by any means....AND FAILED

It wasnt the parents though, the educational system tried to force it on me. Teachers would make me have my left hand behind my back at all times, screaming at me if i wrote with my left hand, even tied my left hand behind my back a couple of times. They didnt know who they were dealing with.
The only thing they accomplished is i got even more determined to be a leftie for life.

My Dad is left handed, but in school you had to write with your right hand. Throughout history left-handedness has been considered negative, mainly due to the fact that the Latin word for "left" is "sinister".

Basically the association of "left" being bad is a hangover from less enlightened times (that, surprisingly, still persists in many aspects to day).

Nope.

I'm left-handed, but so is my mother; thus she never tried to force me to change hands.

School was different....

"They" did try to get us to write with our right hands...but it was without success. So, we're still lefties!

And happy about it

What exactly does forcing such a change accomplish?

left hand people on average die 7 years earlier than right handed people...probably from the stress of doing things left handed, or not being able to use right handed scissors and so on. so i guess now you're right handed you should thank your mum for adding 7 years on to your life

i was ambidextrous when i started kindergarten, but "they" (the educational system), made me choose a hand (i went righty by the way)....really pissed my parents off....

Yeah, Urn, same here. I'm not sure that I was truly ambidextrous though, I was just left handed for some things, right for others. I was left-handed for eating meals and the cruel bastards at my school forced me to use my knife and fork the other way round. I now use a knife and fork the 'right' way, but I still hold them in a different way to most other people which gets some funny looks occasionally. I sort of hook my littlest finger over the end of the handle to get more grip.

it was a long time ago, so i don't really remeber it, but from what my parents tell me, i used to write/draw with whichever hand i felt like, i also used to use certain things left handed and others right handed (like i would use a left handed hockey stick given the choice for instance)...
i,m not sure if it could be considered truly ambidextrous at such a young age...but, thats what i've been told....

[edit on 23-6-2005 by Urn]

My grandma who is lefthanded, was forced to learn how to write with her right hand by the nuns in Catholic boarding school, writing with your left hand was/is still considered "diabolical", True story !

i'm a leftie and when i started school my teacher tried to force me to use my right hand. my mom was FURIOUS. she went to the school and said "my daughter is lefthanded and she will REMAIN lefthanded do not attempt to change that."

so teacher backed off.........mom allowed me to be a leftie ...........although i tend to be able to use both hands for things.........but writing........i'm always leftie!

lefties RULE!


angie

I'm a lefty, and have never had a stigma attached to it (father is left handed too). One of my best friends "should" have been left handed. His grandparents went to far as to slap his hand when we reached for something with his left hand as a baby(A first generation Italian couple). He is, by far, the most stubborn person I know, so once they broke him as a child, he was right handed whether he should have been or not. As a consequence, he has, by far, the worst handwriting I have ever seen.

ME! I do everything with my left! I hold popsickles, I twirl pencils when im bored, I eat with my left, hell I even brush my teeth with my left. I'm even left handed when I go shooting, which means pump actions are terrible for me since I always get debris in my face. But in primary school ages3-4 I was forced to write with my right hand, other wise I was punished by not allowing to pick the toy I wanted. So now, I write with my right. I even use my left foot in soccer, which made me an invaluable left mid, cause I could set up alot of strikes and could play alot of right corners that other people couldnt


[edit on 23-6-2005 by Galvatron]

[edit on 23-6-2005 by Galvatron]

I went to Catholic school many moons ago, and back then you were not allowed to be left handed under any circumstances, it was believed that it was a sign of the devil...so everyone who was left handed was forced into being a righty.

As helicopter pilots we have to actively develop both hemispheres or we cannot hover. It takes about ten flight hours of intense concentration to make a 'breakthrough'- you can actually feel your brain start to fully function on both sides.

I encourage you all to find an activity that challenges your unused hemisphere to work at full capacity in concert with your dominant hemisphere. Even just throwing two darts simultaneously will do.

It opens up new vistas, gives you a new outlook- and makes you happier.

Where I come from lefties are culled at birth. Like when Chinese farmers have girls, the cull them off as they are a liability on the farm.

My dad was beaten up for writing with his left hand by the teachers. Usualyl just with yard sticks and such.

Now his is a perfectly fine left handed person who complains about mouses and joystick being made for right handed people.. and not left handed ones

Originally posted by Chakotay[/i.

I encourage you all to find an activity that challenges your unused hemisphere to work at full capacity in concert with your dominant hemisphere. Even just throwing two darts simultaneously will do.

It opens up new vistas, gives you a new outlook- and makes you happier.

Well what kinds of activity did you all do? I need to find a way to get back in touch with that unused hemisphere my Mom beat out of me as a child. LOL