History Main / TheSouthpaw

** During the last season of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Ezri Dax is left-handed, so [[TheNthDoctor in her disorientation as the new host of the Dax symbiote]], she initially thought she was right-handed like her predecessor Jadzia. The BaseballEpisode, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite", reveals that Rom and Worf are left-handed too.
*** Max Grodenchik (Rom) is right-handed in real life, however, he played baseball left-handed in the episode. The reason is that Grodenchik is a talented baseball player, and could only play Rom's clumsiness believably if he switched hands.

** During the last season of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Ezri Dax is left-handed, so [[TheNthDoctor in her disorientation as the new host of the Dax symbiote]], she initially thought she was right-handed like her predecessor Jadzia. The BaseballEpisode, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite", reveals that Nog and Worf are left-handed too.

** During the last season of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Ezri Dax is left-handed, so [[TheNthDoctor in her disorientation as the new host of the Dax symbiote]], she was initially thinking she was right-handed like her predecessor Jadzia. The BaseballEpisode, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite", reveals that Nog and Worf are left-handed too.

In fiction left-handedness may be mentioned as a defining characteristic for a personality. Being left-handed actually affects a person's entire body, and which hand we feel most comfortable with leading with in our interactions with the world and other people - how we wipe our faces, fold our legs, shake our fists, wave, and even cross our arms. In a lefty it is ''all'' subtly different, which may have inspired the UncannyValley reaction of thinking there is something 'wrong' with left-handed people, since in the past, left-handed-ness was sometimes seen as a sign of demonic possession. For when left-handed-ness is portrayed negatively see ASinisterClue.

Traditionally, baseball fields were oriented so that the batter, catcher, and umpire faced east to ensure that the setting sun wasn't in their eyes. As a result, when a pitcher is on the mound facing home plate, his left hand pointed south, so lefty pitchers came to be known as southpaws. The term has since entered general usage to indicate left-handed people. There is a perception that southpaws have a subtle [[http://www.newsweek.com/id/146842 advantage,]] simply because they are more rare -- after all, right-handers are used to right-handers, but less accustomed to dealing with lefties, while a lefty grows up accustomed to both. And it has proven to be TruthInTelevision in quite a few sports besides baseball. For example, a left-handed sword fighter's attacks come from an angle that is difficult to parry for the more common right-handed people. And left-footed soccer players have a similar advantage over right handed goalkeepers, making them ideal for penalty kicks. As a result, in many sports the proportion of left-handed players is significantly higher than in the general population.

* In ''Film/Gattaca'', Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) is left-handed, but has to learn writing with his right to impersonate Jerome Morrow (Jude Law). [[spoiler: At the end of the film, it turns out that the doctor who runs the genetic tests at the space center, knew all along that Vincent has faked his identity. He tells him that a right-handed man doesn't hold his penis with his left hand while giving urine samples.]]

* ''Manga/YugamiKunNiWaTomodachiGaInai'' has [[LonersAreFreaks loner]] [[TheProtagonist protagonist]] Yugami, the left-handed [[TheAce ace]] of the school's baseball club. He also writes left-handed. Considering the rest of the cast appears to be right-handed, this serves to further accentuate Yugami's eccentricity and isolation.

Traditionally, baseball fields were oriented so that the batter, catcher, and umpire faced east to ensure that the setting sun wasn't in their eyes. As a result, when a pitcher is on the mound facing home plate, his left hand pointed south, so lefty pitchers came to be known as southpaws. The term has since entered general usage to indicate left-handed people. There is a perception that southpaws have a subtle [[http://www.newsweek.com/id/146842 advantage,]] simply because they are more rare -- after all, right-handers are used to right-handers, but less accustomed to dealing with lefties, while a lefty grows up accustomed to both. And it has proven to be TruthInTelevision in quite a few sports besides baseball. For example, a left-handed sword fighters' attacks come from an angle that is difficult to parry for the more common right-handed people. And left-footed soccer players have a similar advantage over right handed goalkeepers, making them ideal for penalty kicks. As a result, in many sports the proportion of left-handed players is significantly higher than in the general population.

* If you pay close enough attention, you’ll see that Lin from '' WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' prefers to use her left hand and is the only main member of the cast to do so.

* Alm in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'' shows a preference for his left hand when using swords, but appears to [[BowAndSwordInAccord wield bows right-handed]] when he gains access to them after promotion.

* [[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Ethan Hunt]], like most other Creator/TomCruise characters, is left-handed but fires weapons with his right hand. [[Creator/JeremyRenner William Brandt]] is left-handed both in general and with firearms.

** Jack Harper in ''Film/Oblivion2013'' is Cruise's only character to fire a rifle left-handed.

* Jack Harper in ''Film/Oblivion2013'' is Cruise's only character to fire a rifle left-handed.

* Jack Harper in ''Film/Oblivion'' is Cruise's only character to fire a rifle left-handed.

* There exists a beer company in Colorado named [[http://www.lefthandbrewing.com "Left Hand."]] They produce [[AccidentalPun sinister]] brews.

** During the last season of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Ezri Dax is left-handed, so [[TheNthDoctor in her disorientation as the new host of the Dax symbiote]], she was initially thinking she was right-handed like her predecessor Jadzia.
*** The BaseballEpisode, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite", reveals that Nog and Worf are left-handed too.

** Link is left-handed in every game without motion controls,[[note]]excepting cases of AmbidextrousSprite, designers thought it made more sense to have Link's sword appear to be on the right-hand side, but 2D ''Zelda'' titles employ the ThreeQuartersView, where the left-right axes are flipped (Link's left is our right and vice versa); non-motion-controlled 3D Link kept the same handedness preference as a ContinuityNod[[/note]] with the exception of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''. Though WordOfGod says he's ambidextrous.

* Inverted in ''Literature/TheDarkTower'': Due to an unfortunate encounter with "lobstrosities" in ''The Drawing of the Three,'' Roland Deschain loses three fingers of his right hand. From that point forward he's strictly a left-handed shooter. The remaining members of his ''ka-tet'' inherit the use of his right-hand gun.

** The total inability the use of a chef's dominant hand, thereby forcing a chef to use his/her weaker hand unaided.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "A Fistful of Datas", Data is seen writing a letter with his left hand.
* During the last season of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Ezri Dax is left-handed, so [[TheNthDoctor in her disorientation as the new host of the Dax symbiote]], she was initially thinking she was right-handed like her predecessor Jadzia.

* ''Series/TooCloseForComfort:'' When she's at her graphic table, Jacqueline Rush draws with her left hand (in line with her portrayer, left-handed Deborah van Valkenburgh).

* Two of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'''s main protagonists, Ruby and Weiss, are left-handed because [[Creator/MontyOum the creator of the show]] was [[https://twitter.com/montyoum/status/304948427790360577 left-handed.]]

* TiedUpOnThePhone: One of the inevitable results of old-style telephone receivers, where the handset was permanently attached to the receiver by a coiled cord, was how quickly the connecting cord ceased to be a neatly organised smooth coil. It would inevitably tangle, snag, knot, loop back on itself, and tended to somehow double over on itself, until the connecting wire between handset and receiver was effectively half its original length. Anyone picking up the handset to such a phone would drag the whole thing up off its table and find it swinging in the air. Left-handed users soon found that the arrangement favoured right-handed people -- both in the direction of coiling, and in the way the headset was meant to be returned to its rest with the connecting wire on the right-hand side. Any old-style phone regularly used by left-handed people would unravel its coils twice as fast (the natural tendency being for a left-hander to return the handset to the rest with the coil-connected end on the ''left''). Any household with both left and right handed people would discover their shared phone suffered from Garden Hose Syndrome -- it became an utter tangled mess very quickly.

* Out of the last eight US Presidents, five have been left handed: Ford, Reagan, HW Bush, Clinton, and Obama. Though Reagan was ambidextrous due to having been forced to write with his right hand as a child. Also notable in that a lot of candidates who ''didn't'' win the elections were also left-handed, most notably John [=McCain=] and Ross Perot (making the 1992 election the first time the top three candidates were all lefties). Most of the candidates, including the biggest ones, for the 2016 election are [[https://www.quora.com/Are-any-candidates-left-handed-this-presidential-season-2016 right-handed.]]

* Antoine D'Coolette from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', wields his sword in the left hand. This is very clear in the fan restored version of Sonic Universe 94 (the pencils were completed and posted online after Archie comics lost the right to Sonic the Hedgehog.) His wife Bunnie is a Situational Southpaw. She has a cybernetic arm complete with Arm Cannon on her left arm but not her right, making her punch exclusively like a lefty.

** Shadow. When it came to his own game it became much more obvious, with him holding his pistol in his left hand. Throughout the game he wields blades and guns left-handed. In video-game media he leads with his left hand - such as pointing, punching, crossing his arms and reaching out.

Contrast IAmNotLeftHanded. Compare LeftHandedMirror, RightHandedLeftHandedGuns, and HeroicAmbidexterity.