Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I've omitted ambidextrous or Cross-dominant categories because despite the fact that everyone is ambidextrous to some extent people tend to be dominant to one hand or or other generally and I have a sneaking feeling that everyone will pick that and make the purpose of the poll useless.

Several studies have been done that seem to show that Transsexuals have elevated incidence of left handedness compared to the cis-gender population

http://www.tweelingenregister.org/nederlands/verslaggeving/NTR_publicaties/Orlebeke_Elevated_1992.pdf (http://www.tweelingenregister.org/nederlands/verslaggeving/NTR_publicaties/Orlebeke_Elevated_1992.pdf)

http://www.springerlink.com/content/x30l7j8067622044/ (http://www.springerlink.com/content/x30l7j8067622044/)
Confirms this phenomenon.
This study attempts to explain the relationship.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21077575?dopt=Abstract (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21077575?dopt=Abstract)

Of course you can be right handed and Transsexual I'm not saying that and it doesn't make your feelings any less valid. I've noticed it too watching certain Transwomens videos on you-tube when they are writing something that they also appear to be left handed.

So I just wanted to get an unscientific population assessment to see if this is the trend within our online community aswell.

MTF - Right-handed. I played some sports left-handed, but mostly I use my right hand just by default for writing, and lots of other things. Everyone tends to have those one-off exceptions to their hand dominance.

A study is a study, it definitely doesn't impact how I feel. :) Interesting articles; food for thought. This whole idea seems similar to the 'finger ratio' studies.

MTF - I write with my left hand, but am right-handed otherwise. I picked left-handed.

MtF - Right handed.  I do use my left hand when I have to do something blind, such as when I was and auto mechanic.  Find and removing or replacing bolts.

MTF, left-handed.  I do a small number of things right-handed, but almost everything important (eating, writing, etc) is left-handed.

southpaws unite!
rawrarawrarawrawrar

I use both my hands for certain things but I more often write with my right hand so I consider myself to be right handed.

Left predominately but also a lot with my right hand, basically anything where I'm not given a choice (right handers world) and have to adapt.. guitar is a great example but with drums I had the option and can flip them around! Skateboarding was something I was quite balanced in.

http://www.funderstanding.com/content/right-brain-vs-left-brain (http://www.funderstanding.com/content/right-brain-vs-left-brain)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_brain_function (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_brain_function)

MTF, right-handed. Well, almost. It depends.

I am unable to write with my left hand (except on a board, and even in that case...) and I am clumsy using a mouse with my left hand, however I do everything sports or housework-related, and many daily activities (eat, manipulate XYZ thingie) with my left hand, and I think I actually use the left more.

I've always tried hard to use my left hand as much as possible, because, uh, I have always had this weird feeling that being left-handed was better. It felt more feminine for some reason. Anyway.

Maybe, if I'm not alone to "feel being left-handed is better", this feeling could be investigated.

Another lefty here. I made a poll like this once lol.

Left handed for writing and eating, everything else right handed. I picked left.

Right-hand dominant, but I swing bats, open doors, adjust my glasses, and investigate my chin for hair almost primarily with my left. I also tend to hold things in my left hand but that may be a result of needing to operate things with my right.

I'm right, but interesting being left handed is really common in my family..

Right-handed here.

I understand your reasons for leaving out ambidextrous. My son is the only one I have heard of who was tested repeatedly in grade school and came out 50/50 on which hand he favored.(meaning no favorite) It baffled the school and he does some things with one hand and some with the other as well as switching of in mid stride for some things.

I voted righthand BTW.

*Raises both hands*

Genuine ambidextrous person here...I feel left out.

So right sided it's unreal, can use my left hand for waving and typing (you know, the important stuff!) but that's about it.

Dad was a lefty though!

Right handed. As far as I know, my entire family is also right handed.

Did teach myself to use my left hand in adult hood. Partly because I became concerned that I may, for some unforsen reson, lose the use of my right.

I'm definitely right-hand dominant, though when playing sports I had no trouble doing things lefty, whether batting left-handed in softball or shooting left-handed in basketball.

Definitely a righty, but there are a few random things that i do only left handed. Its weird.

Of course the numbers are still low but at the moment. in the cisgender population you'd typically see a distribution of 1 lefty for every 9 right people.

individual population breakdowns at the moment.

42.3% Left
57.6% Right
Compared to the nominal distribution if that trend continues there would be a strong link that whatever makes MTF's also appears to increase the odds by 4 times that you would also be left handed.

12.5%
87.5%
In the FTM population there is no significant difference... If this trend continues it will be interesting as it would imply that FTM's are created through a fundamentally different developmental mechanism.

FtM, right handed. Of course, I used to be ambidextrous but I mangled my left hand falling down the stairs in middle school, ever since then it's been awkward to do anything with it and I've been extremely right-hand dominant.

You totally whiffed on this one, with regard to ambidextrousness.  Most people live in one side of their brain or the other, and have a low degree of ambidextrousness.  Women tend to use more of their off-side brain then men, and are more ambidextrous.  Most men can only blink one eye, and women can blink either; as well as use a mascara wand with both hands.

Then you have the question of how is the ambidextrousness accomplished.  For some people, the dominant brain-side works through the corpus colloseum to operate the body by enslaving the off-side brain, and for other people, both brains work together.  This has been studied extensively in golf, where there is a right-brain approach to golf and a left-brain approach to golf - and there is a strong component of amdixtrousness required.

There is also the issue of there being a gender compenant of right-brain or left-brain dominance.  Many people think men are more likely to be left-brain dominant, and women more likely to be right-brain dominant.

It's also complicated because of political-correctness.  Studying and theorizing in these areas are complicated by political-correctness landmines.

Finally, my opinion is that women are more likely to be right-brain dominant, and need to also cultivate left-brain skills; and thus have a higher degree of true (as opposed to slave) ambidextrousness.   In comparison, trans-people all lived for some time in the wrong gender, and had to (or try to) adapt.  Thus, all the factors that make women more truly ambidextrous apply to trans-people.  Furthermore, to learn new skills, we had to become more truly ambidextrous.  So, in my opinion, trans-people have a substantially higher level of genuine amidextrousness, and your survey is going to be out of whack because it doesn't consider ambidextrousness.



Trans people are more likely to have a higher

I kinda agree with GinaDouglas - I mean, I can't write with my right hand, but other than that I'm pretty much functionally right-handed. I have worse strength and fine motor control in my left than in my right. I'm not truly ambidextrous, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm cross-dominant.

I can also switch which eye is dominant at will.

Quote from: pebbles on November 28, 2010, 07:10:53 AM
In the FTM population there is no significant difference... If this trend continues it will be interesting as it would imply that FTM's are created through a fundamentally different developmental mechanism.

Well maybe not fundamentally different.  If androgen levels in the womb is a factor, I wouldn't be surprised that the presence of too much androgen would affect things differently than not enough.

Anyway, interesting results so far, especially when you factor in the number of people claiming to have some amount of ambidexterity!

Mom says I was likely going to be left handed.. but they forced me to be right handed. I'm relatively ambidextrous - but definately the right hand for writing and such.

Quote from: E on November 28, 2010, 11:17:20 AM
I kinda agree with GinaDouglas - I mean, I can't write with my right hand, but other than that I'm pretty much functionally right-handed. I have worse strength and fine motor control in my left than in my right. I'm not truly ambidextrous, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm cross-dominant.

I can also switch which eye is dominant at will.

I broke my right arm, and by necessity had to write with my left, and can do so passably well now.

I'm FTM right handed. Writing with my left hand can be lethal  :P

Another lefty FTM here *waves* Although there are some things I do better with my right *shrug*