Community Suggestion: Laterality / handedness section in the character template
Laterality / handedness section in the character template
Content Addition · Articles & templates · Created by Vibeca
declined
I would like to propose a section for laterality or handedness within the character template. This might seem irrelevant and could potentially be discussed in the "physical quirks" section, but here's why I think this could and maybe should be a thing to consider about a character:
1. A character that is left-handed or ambidextrous might have certain advantages. It is scientifically proven that left handed people have a slight advantage in certain kinds of sports, such as ballgames or martial arts. This is mostly due to the fact, that there are more right-handed than left-handed people. Lefties do everything the other way around, forcing a right-handed opponent who trains with other righties to adjust their every move slightly. This isn't as much of a problem for the lefty, because they tend to be used to it.
2. Historically, there have been many myths and misconceptions about left-handed people. For example, they were assumed to be more intellegent and more creative. People like Einstein or Mozart were apparently left-handed. Some of this is rooted in the believe that the right side is the good side and the left one the evil side. Most of these myths are not actually a thing, but they are something to play with in worldbuilding. In your world, there could be other myths about lefties. Who knows, maybe it's an early sign of a connection to magic or something like that.
3. Another historical thing to consider in worldbuilding is the way left-handed people are treated. In many cultures, the left hand is considered the dirty hand, which is used to wipe ones butt and things like that. This is part of the reason why, until recently, left-handed children were forced to relearn to do things with their right hand, which is nowadays proven to cause, in some cases significant, neurological and behavioural issues.
4. Laterality does not only apply to handedness. There is such a thing as a preferred foot, a preferred eye and ear, a preferred direction in which you instinctively turn around, even a preferred direction people tilt their head to kiss.
So, there are many things to consider about this, which could be quite interesting. There could potentially be tons of implications, not only physically but also mentally or socially. Maybe in your world lefties have magical power, or right-handed people are the minority and forced to relearn everything left-handedly. Maybe this isn't an issue at all.
TL,DR: Handedness historically had and still has many physical, mental and social implications in our world. There are many myths and actual scientific facts connected to it, so why not implement it in your worldbuilding.
If you read all this and now feel like this is something worth consideration with your own characters, please consider supporting this suggestion. Thank you.
1. A character that is left-handed or ambidextrous might have certain advantages. It is scientifically proven that left handed people have a slight advantage in certain kinds of sports, such as ballgames or martial arts. This is mostly due to the fact, that there are more right-handed than left-handed people. Lefties do everything the other way around, forcing a right-handed opponent who trains with other righties to adjust their every move slightly. This isn't as much of a problem for the lefty, because they tend to be used to it.
2. Historically, there have been many myths and misconceptions about left-handed people. For example, they were assumed to be more intellegent and more creative. People like Einstein or Mozart were apparently left-handed. Some of this is rooted in the believe that the right side is the good side and the left one the evil side. Most of these myths are not actually a thing, but they are something to play with in worldbuilding. In your world, there could be other myths about lefties. Who knows, maybe it's an early sign of a connection to magic or something like that.
3. Another historical thing to consider in worldbuilding is the way left-handed people are treated. In many cultures, the left hand is considered the dirty hand, which is used to wipe ones butt and things like that. This is part of the reason why, until recently, left-handed children were forced to relearn to do things with their right hand, which is nowadays proven to cause, in some cases significant, neurological and behavioural issues.
4. Laterality does not only apply to handedness. There is such a thing as a preferred foot, a preferred eye and ear, a preferred direction in which you instinctively turn around, even a preferred direction people tilt their head to kiss.
So, there are many things to consider about this, which could be quite interesting. There could potentially be tons of implications, not only physically but also mentally or socially. Maybe in your world lefties have magical power, or right-handed people are the minority and forced to relearn everything left-handedly. Maybe this isn't an issue at all.
TL,DR: Handedness historically had and still has many physical, mental and social implications in our world. There are many myths and actual scientific facts connected to it, so why not implement it in your worldbuilding.
If you read all this and now feel like this is something worth consideration with your own characters, please consider supporting this suggestion. Thank you.
The Team's Response
Thanks for suggesting it! We have decided to decline this as we already have the "Physical Quirks" section that you can use for this. This would add an extra field on an already complex template. If you want that to be in the sidebar, you can use custom key-value pairs: --Laterality::Left-handed--
Current score
29/300 Votes · +5103 points
Votes Cast
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+100
by A Lusty Bananafolk
on 2023-07-03 18:24 -
+100
by illumiinae
on 2023-07-02 17:49 -
+1
by that_guy04
on 2023-07-02 00:54 -
+100
by oaster2000
on 2023-06-30 10:28While I see some points mentioned about how to handle it already as fillable content. I normally fill in an article by looking through the template and using that as a basis for writing my own custom content anyways. Adding in another section just gives me more to think about when writing my characters and gives a new taste to what can be done with the character itself.
-
+100
by LoreParmenter
on 2023-06-30 04:36 -
+1
by prestonthedm
on 2023-06-29 15:41 -
+100
by Goldkeeper777
on 2023-06-28 03:32 -
+300
by Serbaayuu
on 2023-06-26 01:07 -
+300
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+300
by GR!N
on 2023-06-23 20:27 -
+1
by tjtrewin
on 2023-06-23 15:42 -
+100
by A Fierce Skeleton
on 2023-06-22 16:46 -
+100
by A Roaring Kobold
on 2023-06-22 16:02 -
+300
by tabbyykatt
on 2023-06-22 02:21Having this as a simple drop down template would be much easier than manually adding it for each character. Which side a person is dominant with affects writing, fights, injuries; so its something I think about for most my characters.
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+100
by A Beloved Skeleton
on 2023-06-20 03:38 -
+100
by A Fierce Orc
on 2023-06-19 22:32 -
+300
by JetpackMonkey
on 2023-06-19 21:49 -
+300
by Cursedvapors
on 2023-06-19 18:09 -
+300
by A Lusty Goblin
on 2023-06-19 14:48 -
+300
by A Adorable Elf
on 2023-06-19 10:39 -
+300
by Observer of the Stars
on 2023-06-19 07:39 -
+300
by Masha Medov
on 2023-06-18 21:42Yes, this can be added manually in the sidebar. However, the different prompts are useful world-building help. I hadn't thought to include which handedness characters are. Having the prompts/suggestions can spark creativity, and in my opinion is one of the best things about World Anvil. I think this would be a good thing to add.
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+300
by A Goodhearted Orc
on 2023-06-18 19:03 -
-100
by A Beloved Bananafolk
on 2023-06-18 10:26Feels like something that can be added to the sidebar as as custom content
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+100
by Rilameth
on 2023-06-18 10:25 -
+300
by SebGreg732
on 2023-06-18 09:28 -
+300
by LittleSister
on 2023-06-18 09:04I really like this idea. It would be a cool quirk to include and is worth being a sidebar prompt for sure.
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-300
by A Uncontrollable Mimic
on 2023-06-18 07:26as a left handed person please miss me with this astrology stuff and please use the physical quirks or virtues&perks or vices&flaws or ticks&quirks if using a certain hand is important for your world. You can also use the sidebar custom content to display it as if it was a fillable box, but I doubt many would find this thing important to fill out
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+300
by Ratha
on 2023-06-18 03:44 -
+300
by Vibeca
on 2023-06-18 01:03
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