I was reading The Dispossessed again when I noticed something...

[conuly]

As Shevek is getting injected, the doctor first asks "Are you right-handed?"

Shevek isn't, the shot goes in his right arm, all's well with the world.

Wait for the implications to hit you.

Yes, that's right - the only reason to ask the question like that is if lefties aren't the minority there.

Ursula K. LeGuin rocks, and that's all I have to say on the subject. I knew she was big on things like not having tons of white characters because the majority of the world we live in is not, in fact, white (and it's nice to make a subtle point now and again and make "minority" readers feel they can easily relate to your books and all that good stuff), but... she just rocks.

I believe I'll write her a letter right now to tell her how much she rocks.

On a similar subject, does anybody know of any good lefty children's scissors? One of Ana's friends is clearly left-handed, and I want to get her a pair or two for her birthday (one to have and one to lose, of course).

And don't give me that nonsense about "ambidextrous" scissors, thanks. There's no such thing.

Comments

[packbat.livejournal.com]

I never noticed that. Then again, I'm right-handed.

Then again, I didn't notice skin colors in "A Wizard of Earthsea", and I'm certainly not white. It is nice how she does those things, though. The default person should not be a beardless brown-haired Caucasian in a grey shirt. (http://tailsteak.com/archive.php?num=6)

[packbat.livejournal.com]

Caucasian male, I meant. Darn uneditable comments....

[conuly]

Definitely.

[latenightparty.livejournal.com]

There used to be a specialty left-handed store here in town that sold books and gifts. I don't know if it still exists, but they sold scissors. I got a pair for my lefty mother for her birthday.

Other than that, I don't know of any scissors... I'm just another boring right-handed person. :(

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

If I recall correctly, Ursula is a lefty.

[conuly]

Ah. That does explain it :)

Of course, I would not have assumed it considering she's also white, but makes a concerted effort not to have caucasians dominating her books.

[xxrosencrantzxx.livejournal.com]

Craft stores will usually have a couple pairs of lefty scissors for kids. Barring that, any office supply store.

I'm a lefty, but I use right-handed scissors, because growing up, all the left-handed ones were always stiff and rusted. Though, I also use chopsticks right handed, which makes no sense as they are not handed.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

"...the only reason to ask the question like that is if lefties aren't the minority there."

I haven't read the book, so I probably am missing some pertinent information about what the shot does... I wanted to comment, though, that from what I'm recalling, I'm usually asked whether I'm right-handed when the nurse is getting ready to insert an IV. I say "mildly" -- and the nurse goes to my left side to set up the IV.

(Of course, it's a useless question in my case. Both hands are extremely difficult to IV because of all the scarring from previous IVs, but overuse made the left side almost impossible. I'm not sure what they'll do when the right side becomes useless as well... Probably go back to the wrists again, I suppose.)

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Also, just in case I screwed that up, since my brain wasn't handling the right/left dichotomy well as usual:

They used to IV my left side all the time. That is scarred down, so now they use my right.

Before putting in an IV, the nurse usually asks whether my right hand is dominant.

For all I know, I might be ambidextrous from all the time I've spent with my right hand being taped up. I'm left-eye dominant. (I also reach further and "lead" with my left leg, which I *think* is the side favored by left-side-dominant animals. I could be wrong...someone else with more information about horses might know, since they're the only creature I've heard of humans studying in that regard and it's been a decade since my last equine science class.)

[conuly]

Usually, if they bother to ask when I get a shot, they ask "Are you left-handed?"

Since most people don't listen to questions, asking if you're in the majority would be painful - people would just say "yeah, yeah" (or no, no) and get stabbed in the wrong arm. Which would be funny to me, because I'm mean.

[sicpuppy.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Just because a child is left handed, I wouldn't instantly assume that left handed scissors would work. Im left handed, but I can't use scissors in my left hand at all, I HAVE to use my right one.

[prezzey.livejournal.com]

OWWW, it took me minutes to sink in.

Le Guin is great... I also like her emphasis on how different and/or nonhuman societies function, down to the small details like this one.

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

I could be wrong-- it's been a few years since I saw her. I just seem to remember that about her.

Also, though white, she grew up in a household of anthropologists. She had the us/them dichotomy challenged from the time she was an infant.

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Left eye dominant would indicate right-sidedness. It sounds like you're more ambidextrous than one-handed.

[conuly]

Is that because you only ever learned to cut with righty scissors, though?

Jackie cuts left-handed. At this age, they're all awkward with scissors anyway, but soon enough it'll be hard to cut left-handed with righty scissors.

Having the lefty scissors will at least give her the option :)

[packbat.livejournal.com]

I never noticed that. Then again, I'm right-handed.

Then again, I didn't notice skin colors in "A Wizard of Earthsea", and I'm certainly not white. It is nice how she does those things, though. The default person should not be a beardless brown-haired Caucasian in a grey shirt. (http://tailsteak.com/archive.php?num=6)

[packbat.livejournal.com]

Caucasian male, I meant. Darn uneditable comments....

[conuly]

Definitely.

[latenightparty.livejournal.com]

There used to be a specialty left-handed store here in town that sold books and gifts. I don't know if it still exists, but they sold scissors. I got a pair for my lefty mother for her birthday.

Other than that, I don't know of any scissors... I'm just another boring right-handed person. :(

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

If I recall correctly, Ursula is a lefty.

[conuly]

Ah. That does explain it :)

Of course, I would not have assumed it considering she's also white, but makes a concerted effort not to have caucasians dominating her books.

[xxrosencrantzxx.livejournal.com]

Craft stores will usually have a couple pairs of lefty scissors for kids. Barring that, any office supply store.

I'm a lefty, but I use right-handed scissors, because growing up, all the left-handed ones were always stiff and rusted. Though, I also use chopsticks right handed, which makes no sense as they are not handed.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

"...the only reason to ask the question like that is if lefties aren't the minority there."

I haven't read the book, so I probably am missing some pertinent information about what the shot does... I wanted to comment, though, that from what I'm recalling, I'm usually asked whether I'm right-handed when the nurse is getting ready to insert an IV. I say "mildly" -- and the nurse goes to my left side to set up the IV.

(Of course, it's a useless question in my case. Both hands are extremely difficult to IV because of all the scarring from previous IVs, but overuse made the left side almost impossible. I'm not sure what they'll do when the right side becomes useless as well... Probably go back to the wrists again, I suppose.)

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Also, just in case I screwed that up, since my brain wasn't handling the right/left dichotomy well as usual:

They used to IV my left side all the time. That is scarred down, so now they use my right.

Before putting in an IV, the nurse usually asks whether my right hand is dominant.

For all I know, I might be ambidextrous from all the time I've spent with my right hand being taped up. I'm left-eye dominant. (I also reach further and "lead" with my left leg, which I *think* is the side favored by left-side-dominant animals. I could be wrong...someone else with more information about horses might know, since they're the only creature I've heard of humans studying in that regard and it's been a decade since my last equine science class.)

[conuly]

Usually, if they bother to ask when I get a shot, they ask "Are you left-handed?"

Since most people don't listen to questions, asking if you're in the majority would be painful - people would just say "yeah, yeah" (or no, no) and get stabbed in the wrong arm. Which would be funny to me, because I'm mean.

[sicpuppy.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Just because a child is left handed, I wouldn't instantly assume that left handed scissors would work. Im left handed, but I can't use scissors in my left hand at all, I HAVE to use my right one.

[prezzey.livejournal.com]

OWWW, it took me minutes to sink in.

Le Guin is great... I also like her emphasis on how different and/or nonhuman societies function, down to the small details like this one.

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

I could be wrong-- it's been a few years since I saw her. I just seem to remember that about her.

Also, though white, she grew up in a household of anthropologists. She had the us/them dichotomy challenged from the time she was an infant.

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Left eye dominant would indicate right-sidedness. It sounds like you're more ambidextrous than one-handed.

[conuly]

Is that because you only ever learned to cut with righty scissors, though?

Jackie cuts left-handed. At this age, they're all awkward with scissors anyway, but soon enough it'll be hard to cut left-handed with righty scissors.

Having the lefty scissors will at least give her the option :)