How do "loose culture" and "tight culture" deal with left-handed people?

How do "loose culture" and "tight culture" deal with left-handed people?
Jun 3, 2008 03:27
guesthand	One interesting aspect of culture is the degree to which its members expect everyone to conform, to all think and act in similar ways. Some scholars divide cultures into two broad categories，"loose" and "tight". "Loose" cultures do not demand a high degree of conformity. "Tight" cultures, in contrast, expect a relatively high degree of conformity. Well, it sounds abstract! While I was at school, my professor put it simply through an interesting illustration; He said that the difference between loose and tight culture can be found in how they deal with people who are born with left-handed.In virtually all societies, there are more right-handed people than left-handed ones. So the left-handed people are "different". In loose cultures, children who favor their left hand are generally not encouraged to use their right hand. In contrast, in tight cultures, children who favor their left hand are encouraged or even forced to use their right hand instead, and hence the percentage of left-handed people in the adult population is much smaller. Generally speaking, western cultures tend to be loose; Chinese culture tends to be tight. When I was a Child, I favored left hand, my parents forced me to use the right hand to write and hold chopsticks. They hoped me to conform to the accepted norms and behavior. Are you left-handed? How did people around you deal with you when you were a child?

Jun 3, 2008 03:27

guesthand

One interesting aspect of culture is the degree to which its members expect everyone to conform, to all think and act in similar ways. Some scholars divide cultures into two broad categories，"loose" and "tight".

"Loose" cultures do not demand a high degree of conformity. "Tight" cultures, in contrast, expect a relatively high degree of conformity.

Well, it sounds abstract! While I was at school, my professor put it simply through an interesting illustration; He said that the difference between loose and tight culture can be found in how they deal with people who are born with left-handed.In virtually all societies, there are more right-handed people than left-handed ones. So the left-handed people are "different". In loose cultures, children who favor their left hand are generally not encouraged to use their right hand. In contrast, in tight cultures, children who favor their left hand are encouraged or even forced to use their right hand instead, and hence the percentage of left-handed people in the adult population is much smaller.

Generally speaking, western cultures tend to be loose; Chinese culture tends to be tight. When I was a Child, I favored left hand, my parents forced me to use the right hand to write and hold chopsticks. They hoped me to conform to the accepted norms and behavior. Are you left-handed? How did people around you deal with you when you were a child?

Jun 3, 2008 06:51

JABAROOTOO
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Join Date: Jul 4, 2005
Status: Offline

Interesting! My father was born of a generation that forced children to conform. While he wrote awkwardly with his right hand he did everything else with his left and even suffered with dyslexia as a result of being forced to use his right hand. My brother and one sister are both left handed- very gifted and my parents forced neither of them to conform.

I watched with some interest one of my Chinese kindy kids who was using his left hand to write and colour-in. He was just learning to write his English name clearly when he was instructed by his parents to use his left hand for writing. He then began to write his English name in mirror image. This is quite a difficult thing to do for most people but for this five year old it seemed easy and natural. I pointed this out to his teacher and suggested that she inform his parents that perhaps they should not push the issue. He is an especially bright kid and I wonder what will happen if he is forced to comply with societies 'norms'

Left-handedness does not mean FREAK but it quite possibly indicates a very clever mind and IMO it should not be tampered with.

Jun 3, 2008 14:21

GRIZ326
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Join Date: Jun 12, 2006
Status: Offline

I too was a lefty. The good sisters slapped my hands with a ruler when I'd take up the pencil in my left hand.

There is actually a practical reason to enforce compliances and this conversation would not be complete without it.

There is a cost associated with being a lefty in a right-handed world. For instance, a lefty needs to have special scissors for cutting, a special glove for catching ball and most importantly, a lefty finds it difficult to reload a revolver in a gunfight ... which can be a real problem. ;-)

Jun 3, 2008 16:02	#3
MARRIE Points: Join Date: Jan 7, 2008 Status: Offline	who creates financial system, accounting system, law system, tax system, mgt system,labor uninon, Info Tech ,the foundation of modern civiliazation althoug it' not perfect yet. we (chinese) are loose although the apperance seems tight. we chinese write a lot critically on our cultures...

Jun 3, 2008 20:34	#4
ICEBLUE Points: Join Date: Aug 30, 2007 Status: Offline	Left-handed people are seen as "minority" in loose culture. When I was at primary school, the teacher beaten the left hand of the left-handed classmates. Left-handed people are said to have developed right half of the brain.

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