Left Handed Spouses Are the Coolest Spouses

If you read our About page, you already know the beginning of our lefty pride journey.  My husband is left handed.  Although, I didn't know it or even paid attention when we first met.  I just thought the way he wrote was odd.  He always wrote with his hand raised off the paper.  I didn’t notice that he was writing with his left hand and that he was just trying to keep the smudges off his hand.  I just thought that he was extremely interesting and different.   I never actually noticed until he mentioned it one day.  I saw him write and cook millions of times and never noticed that he was doing these things left handed.  I just thought he held his hand differently than I did.  It was kind of cool as this was the first person that I knew (or noticed) was left handed.

I created this site to offer transparency and experiences of left handers from a personal level and not a scientific or word of mouth level.  There is a lot of information on the internet that speak on facts and myths and few things that speak on actual experiences.  Are those things true in your left-handed world?  Are those things true in the world that you live with your left-handed spouse?  Are those things true raising left-handed kids? 

I read a left-handed article in Reader's Digest called Left Handed People Myths.  So, I'm going to go through five left-handed myths and give you my personal experiences as the spouse of a left hander. 

1. Myth: Lefties are more creative

Per Reader's Digest:

"There are some things that all super creative people have in common; being left-handed isn't one of them. The link between left-handers and creativity is a longstanding myth that is likely just that—a myth. A 1995 study found left-handed men tended to think more creatively when problem-solving; however, there was no difference in the thinking between female righties and lefties. “When you look at actual creative achievements in one’s lifetime, the evidence is not strong for association with left-handedness,” Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told Health."

My personal experience:

Well, if that's a myth, I must have gotten lucky.  My left-handed husband is the most creative person I've ever met.  He always thinks outside the box.  Even when he's cooking, following a recipe is not his thing.  He must add this and add that.  He goes by smell and what he thinks would taste good together.  When he cuts the grass, he creates different angels in the yard.... not irregular angles.... diagonal or straight...it's always different.   Even with our kids, he comes up with the most awesome "stories" about how he came from a different planet and that they are princesses and tells them to get ready to rule the world when they come of age.

2. Myth: Lefties are more likely to be leaders

Per Reader's Digest:

"Six of the last 12 U.S. presidents have been lefties, but that's only considered presidential trivia, not a qualification for the job. (Speaking of trivia, check out these surprising talents of American presidents.) There’s no hard-scientific evidence that handedness had anything to do with their leadership skills. “Some of the basis for those observations between leadership and handedness comes from looking at historical figures. The extrapolation is that there must be something common between these individuals who are elected and successful, one being their handedness,” says Elizabeth Ochoa, PhD, chief psychologist at Mount Sinai-Beth Israel."

This holds truth to the lefty hubby:

This is really what attracted me to my husband.  He is the kind that takes a challenge and runs with it to the end.  His friends always ask and value his opinions.  He never answers a question with a couple of words.  He goes into details, with life and personal examples.  He is panned as a leader and he doesn't realize it.  We've had this conversation before and he still doesn't think so. 

3. Myth: Lefties are more intelligent

Per Reader's Digest:

“There’s an idea that left-handed people are more intelligent, but that’s not so,” says Dr. Ochoa. Anyone can be intelligent, especially if you have these quirky habits proven to make you smarter. A study from the 70s examined more than 7,000 grade school children and found no difference in intellectual ability between left-handers and right-handers, she said. Lefties may, however, think differently. “The world is not a left-handed-friendly place—utensils, scissors, and other items of daily use are designed for the right-handed person,” says Dr. Ochoa. “Left-handed people have to think flexibly and come up with ways to use those tools and navigate.”

My personal experience:

I agree with Reader's digest.  I don't think intelligence comes from your handedness.  However, intelligence is another thing that attracted me to him.  My left-handed husband is very intelligent.  He always thinks outside the box and never follows the norm.   I'll watch him engage in conversations with his friends and family about everyday topics and he always incorporates politics, science and polls into the conversation.  So, his way of thinking is to speak it and then prove it.

4. Myth: Lefties are introverted

Per Reader's Digest:

"Another common lore is that left-handed people tend to be more introverted than righties. But a 2013 New Zealand study found no differences across any of the five personality measures tested between right-handers and left-handers. Even if that were true, introverts have hidden strengths that extroverts don't. “The stereotype [that left-handers are mentally or morally inferior] doesn’t reflect reality,” study author Gina Grimshaw, PhD, director of the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Wellington in New Zealand told Health."

My personal experience:

I agree with Reader's Digest.  I don't think that just because you're a lefty, that means you're an introvert.  My left-handed husband is both an introvert and extrovert.  Let me explain.  He's like an oven.  He must warm up to you.  So, he's shy when initially meeting people, but turns into an extrovert after he warms up.  Even though he is a natural talker and engages in conversation well, he always sits back first, listens and then engage. 

5. Myth: Lefties are "right-brained"

Per Reader's Digest:

"Since most right-handed people use the left hemisphere of the brain to process language, that must mean that left-handed people think with the right side of the brain, right? Not necessarily. Dr. Grimshaw found that while 98 percent of righties are left-brained, so are 70 percent of lefties. “For the most part, left-handers do not differ obviously from right-handers. They certainly don’t have reversed brains,” Grimshaw told Health. Regardless of which is your dominant hand, anyone can strengthen both sides of their brain with just a few simple brain exercises."

My personal experience:

I can't speak to this as I don't really understand it and my husband has never been tested.  But, I can tell you that my husband hasn't shown any signs of extreme brain oddities.

Being the wife of a left hander has been amazing!  I've known my husband for 21 years and I still love watching him do lefty things.  The absolute best is when he cooks left handed.  Now, that is something to watch.  I try, but I only make a mess.

1. SHOP NOW
2. READ ABOUT LEFT HANDED CELEBRITIES
3. OUR TOP LIST OF FAMOUS LEFT HANDED PEOPLE
4. WHICH U.S PRESIDENTS WERE LEFT HANDED
5. CHECK OUT OUR LIST OF LEFT HANDED CARTOON CHARACTERS
6. CHECK OUT OUR GROWING LIST OF LEFT HANDED POETS
7. READ OUR BLOG
8. LEARN ABOUT LEFT HANDED DISCRIMINATION
9. LEFT HANDED SCHOLARSHIPS