Visit our online shop for your left-handed productsEating with the left hand – embarrassing?
Club Member Susantha tells us that in Sri Lanka, as in most South East Asian countries, most people use their fingers at meal times. It is considered rude to eat with your left hand and this could lead to embarrassing situations. The least of such situations will be when at a formal meal you are seated next to a person using his right hand your left elbow keeps getting in the way of your neighbours right elbow. “I am a confirmed left hander but have always used my right hand at meal times. Both my sons are also left handed and they use their left hand at meal times”.
Bob from Honolulu reported on the same subject, but a bit more forthrightly…If you are ever invited to a Middle Eastern sit-down dinner.. truly sit-down.. on the floor.. and find no utensils.. make absolutely certain that you use your right-hand to dig in to the platters.. as in Arab culture.. the left-hand has one important function.. to wipe one’s rear!
If you have any views or more information on this or any other situations where using your left hand can be embarrassing please add a comment below.
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i’m from india and though ppl here use there right hand during meals it really doesnt bother me when i am using my left hand to do the same….my parents did initially try to teach me to use my right hand to eat but i jus switched back to the left. it does bother ppl when they see me eating rice and bread with my left hand when there’s no cutlery available and they do prompt and make a face when i do so but every time that happens i jus tell them to try eating with there non-dominant hand and see how it goes for them….and it surely pisses them off really quick!
i’m really proud to eat with my left hand and i like to see how it bothers ppl soo much. i guess being a rebel is just the leftie way of life!
yes, in most of the south east asia left handers are considred to be a disgrac and are often forcd to eat with their right hand specially at formal meals.
Being Left-handed I am naturally a genius, and though I choose to eating with a knife and fork in a left-handed manner; I am perfectly able to switch over to eat in a right-handed way if I deemed it necessary. But my sisters, who are all left-handed as well; choose to eat in a right-handed way, though they can swop over as well.
At school I was also humiliated by teachers during lunch hour, they’d often stand behind me and hold the knife and fork in my hands and cut my food for me whilst the whole school watched, they’d then fork the food into by mouth to teacher me how to eat correctly.
I didn’t care though and as soon as they thought they’d got their point across to me, that they’d corrected my deviant behaviour and handed my back possession of my own cutlery; I swop hands and resume eating Left-handed again.
They tried humiliation, then punishment by giving me detention and then informed my parents to try to resolve the matter.
Fortunately my parents (both right-handed), were having none of it and told the school that as long as eat in a lady-like manner and my elbows were never on the table, etc…
That they supported me eating left-handed.
As to eating left-handed whilst with religions who don’t approve of it; all I can say is my Asian friends have never minded or commented on my dinner ettiquette and if I were abroad I’d just carry on regardless. If others don’t like it then don’t eat with me; the plus side being I’d have first dibs on all the best bits of the meal.
As far as I can remember I have always eaten ‘righthanded’ although I vaguely recall when I was young my nan reminding me to have the knife in the right and fork in the left hands. When I cut say bread or meat joint I always use my left hand, likewise when I use a spoon. Sometimes, even now, I have to think when I lay the table which side of the plate to put the knife and fork even though the eating part comes naturally to me. Eating with fingers (and sandwiches) I usually use my left hand and I always use my right hand when using toilet paper. Naturally I wash both hands afterwards. One thing though, unless you use a communal toilet how would anybody actually know what hand you’ve used for that, it’s hardly something you tell everyone at the dinner table, lol. Another thing, not related I know, is I can only use scissors in my right hand but always sew with my left.
I’m wondering if anybody else has the same problem (?) as I. I am neither fully left or righthanded. for example I can throw whatever pretty well with my right hand but with my left I cannot throw well at all. I write well with my left but with my right I write with difficulty. So it is doing different actions. What catagory am I in?
You know what, I’m very much ilcnnied to agree.
When I lived in Burma (my father was Burmese), I was taught that eating with implements/utensils was a relatively ‘new’ Western idea, as many south-east Asian communities saw cutlery – especially if made from metal – as quite uncivilised – akin to eating at the dinner table with your sword.
But using cutlery was adopted by my father’s relatives at important gatherings because (as one of Rangoon’s oldest and distinguished families) they were expected to ‘hob-nob’ with visiting European VIPs.
Nevertheless, I was always encouraged to eat with my fingers when it was just ‘immediate’ family – although there would be ‘gentle persuasion’ to try to use my right hand rather than left…
When cooking, I wield the knife with my left hand. However, when eating, the fork stays in my left hand, and I cut with my right. I don’t have to change hands while eating as right-handed people seem to have to do.
When I go to the john, I use my right hand, so eating with my left would seem natural. However, I wash both hands with soap and warm water before leaving, so it really wouldn’t matter.
I use an electric can opener. But, I do use most tools with my left hand – except for a mechanical can-opener. I can use a corkscrew with either hand, but prefer the left, especially for older bottles.
I am left-handed but when using a knife and fork, the fork is in my left hand. Cutting with a knife I use my left hand and when using a fork alone, it is in my left hand. I cannot remember if anyone persuaded me to use and knife and fork as a right-handed person would. I remember my mother trying to teach me to knit left handed and she gave up, I can knit either way. I can also kick a football with both feet equally well, use a raquet in either hand but I throw a ball with my left hand only. I am just learning to use the left-handed scissors I bought recently as I have never used them before. I use a can opener in my right hand too – so I need to buy a lefty one. Strangely, my right arm seems stronger than my left.
In my (non-Catholic) primary school in Britain in the 1970′s I went to school dinners once. The headmistress caught me using my cutlery the ‘wrong’ way and stood behind me, poking me in the left shoulder as she screeched, ‘fork in the left, girl – knife in the right – have you never eaten at a table before?’ until I completed my meal in tears with hundreds of children staring at me. I didn’t go back to school dinners but I never used my cutlery the ‘wrong’ way again… and the smell of cheese pie still makes me feel sick!
ha!ha! I can understand what you went through.I grew up in a home where table manners was taken so seriously that we had a book on table manners for reference.To this day I hold fork in the left knife in the right!
Yo, that’s what’s up trutfuhlly.
Oh well, that means I’m going hungry! I eat in a left-handed manner. That is, when I use a knife and fork, my knife is in my left hand. When I use a fork or spoon alone, I use my left hand. Whenever I pick up food I always use my left hand, after all it is my dominant/strong hand.
hye..i am a Malaysian….i am rigth hand guy,but nwday’s i prefeer to use my left hand for all the work..because good give us only too hand and we have too use the both hand..the is no such things that for “business” we must use left hand…for eat meal must use right hand.just think that what we will do if we only got one hand…moreover as a rigth-hand guy i feel sad when i notice that my left -hand is less power full than my rigth hand.So use both hand as well as possible..that’s smart way…………………………………………….
i agree god gave us two hands why should we use only one hand learn both and be smart
I too went to Catholic school , the nuns tried per usual to switch me from being left handed to being right handed, but since my mother was left handed that didn’t go over very well. I will say that going to Catholic school taught me to write on a slant, to the right. So I remain and proudly a left hander.
Also, when I go to resturants I make sure that I sit on the left end of the table so that I don’t bump into anyones arm. It works, it is kind of like calling shot gun in a car.
I too attended Catholic school and was left-handed. I was struck with a ruler and bullied to switch to my right hand. My school was going to throw me out of school if I didn’t comply by the first of the year. (this being in the 1st grade!). When my mom heard of this she paid a little visit to the school and set them straight in a hurry! I’m still a lefty and proud of it!
I’m British and worked in Adu Dhabi for a while. I soon learned that the smaller shops were reluctant to take money from my left hand. The look on their face was amusing while trying to count the change offered in my left hand. Transfer it all to the right hand and it was no problem.
As a child I recall the teacher hitting my left hand with a ruler in an effort to make me write with my right hand. This was done but never explained what they wanted from me so I had no idea what I had done ‘wrong’. I told my parents who contacted the school and put a stop to this.
I am a Malaysian Indian, and in our culture, eating is always using the right hand, especially if utensils are not in the available. My parents did not punish me nor tortured me to change my lefthood to righthood, except when it comes to eating using hands. So, eating without utensils, have to use the right hand because the left is for the “business”! But if with utensils, i prefer left and no one stops me from using my left. Now that i’m also going to get married to a leftie, problem solved!
i try to understand the people who use the right hand, and when i eat with this people i sit in the corner of the table, i’m not going to change my form to use my hand
regards
I fully agree with carlitos. I am from Norway and I respect the “others”. As 100% lefty I normaly looking for a corner seat at the dinner table. Using the knife by left hand, fork in the right hand. If only fork then the nartural place is in the left hand.
i m a left hander from India. in our restaurants they always serve wrong plates on wrong side for wrong person….
and during dinners of family get-together’s, (my own family doesn’t mind) everyone stares while i m eating and say…..”oh u eat with u r left hand… thats very bad…. use your right hand at least while eating…..” but i don’t bother as i really can’t eat with my right hand..
I’m a left hander from Sri Lanka and having embarassing moments during meals.
If I ever find myself in one of these eating situations, rest assured I will use my left hand. And if anybody eating with me doesn’t like it, too bad.
I am left-handed and I live and work in Mongolia. When offered food or drink, the options are usually to receive it with both hands or with the right hand only. Receiving with the left hand is considered insulting to the host.
in my home country Nigeria there is a lot of negative attitude towards people who are left handed.On several occasions when i wasgrowing up in Nigeria .awoman would say “leftie girl you won2t get married” someone would say to a child who makes a mistake stupid girl/boy are you leftie.it got to a stage on social occassions eating in public became so distressing cos someone would correct you. saying can”you use your lefthand.
i think that the cultural attitude/social attitude towards leftie”s should stop. and especially in countries wher cultural values are important. i myself as a child my parents took me to see a psychologist in london who said ther is nothing wrong in being lefthanded.
Morning all left handers
i too can relate to Jacqui, i went to a Catholic school in Souh Afriaca, always making the sign of the cross with my left hand, only to be corrected on numerous times to use the right hand
I have been chided by, the Muslim husband of one of my graduate students, for eating with my “dirty” hand. I was raised by 2 righties to use my right hand to clean myself after a BM.
I eat finger food with my left hand, but I eat sandwiches with my right hand. I cut food with a knife in my left hand and eat it with the fork that held during the cutting using my right hand. I always clean myself using toilet paper with my left hand, and then carefully clean both of my hands with lots of soap and water.
I eat finger food with my left hand, but I eat sandwiches with my right hand. I cut food with a knife in my left hand and eat it with the fork that held furing the cutting using my right hand. I always clean myself using toilet paper with my left hand, and then carefully clean both of my hands with lots of soap and water.
I am currently living in Tenerife and the equivalent insult as the term kak(presumebly refering to pooh)handed is used in spanish to refer to left handed people.It is”soy no zurdos”and is loosely translated as” I am not left handed “when excusing ones self for a mistake or blunder.I have asked around and this quote seems to have been resigned to history as the spanish are more pro the whole of society than some still bigotted socioist,if thats a real word,groups who keep negativity as part of their inherited social culture.I think I have made a valid point because I think every body is subject to this same insulting negativity.Its the people who are cock eyed I feel sorry for,try and explain your way out of that one.
Does anyone know where I can buy ChopSticks for lefty’s?
try the lefthand shop ha ha.
i wish i knew i want some that would be cool
Apparently, I will just have to go hungry – the food would never make it to my mouth if I had to eat righty
I would prefer a lefty to eat with their left hand in such a situation as it is likely that they are using their off (right) hand to clean themselves. Just like a righty in a situation where hands are used without the benefit of toilet paper, I don’t want the results on the hand I’m most likely to put near my face and all over items I touch.
Well said Katie.
I’m sad to say that raised in the Catholic faith at just six years old I found myself hauled out of a full school assembly onto the stage and made to repeat over and over the sign of the cross. I couldn’t understand why Sister was shouting at me and kept on and on repeating the sign of the cross until I was disgracefully dismissed. Bet you can guess what my sin was?
Obviously, Sister wasn’t in her right mind!
sitting down to an organised dinner is a problem because most of the table furnature is in the wrong position, so I proceed to put it right before I start. like it or lump it.amen
I had a similar situation at school, I was catholic and it was almost a sin to be left handed, its th devil you know. they tried to force me to write with my right hand , but my will was stronger than theirs ,so they gave up
I wonder if the Devil is a left hander!!!
respect the left they cant make us do anything
and why is it that when you get something correct they say its right
yea, i am from Malaysia, also a South East Asia country near Singapore.
The Malay religion here (not me) also uses the right hand to eat.
left hand is only use to clean yourself after the ‘business’. so its improper to use left hand to eat during meal times.