A day when lefties aren't left out

A friendly greeting kiss can become a social nightmare for a left-handed person in a world made for right-handers.

"Our natural position is to move to the right and kiss on the left cheek," says Lauren Milsom, proud leftie and co-founder of the London-based Left-handers Club.

"The trouble is that most right-handers do the opposite and it ends up with an embarrassing clash."

As one club member writes: "I ended up kissing my friend's husband full on the lips. My daughter stood there and looked stunned.

"I felt so embarrassed and my 8-year-old said, 'What about Daddy'?"

The club hopes these kind of quirks will be highlighted today as part of the 13th annual International Left-handers' Day. About 10 per cent of people are left-handed, and famous lefties include Leonardo da Vinci, Jimi Hendrix and New Zealand golfer Sir Bob Charles.

Mrs Milsom said it was more a day of solidarity for lefties rather than an events-based occasion.

"We're clumsy and awkward, but we're not incapable of dealing with life. The day is a fun way of getting people to appreciate having to use things that are back-to-front for us.

"It builds awareness. Designers and manufacturers now come to us and say, 'Do you think this is okay for left-handers to use?"'

The Left-Handers Club has 48,000 members worldwide, including about 5000 New Zealanders.

It has a website for people to download posters to create their own "leftie zone", where everyone has to do everything left-handed.

"It's not a disability," Mrs Milsom says. "Being left-handed is something to celebrate.

"We don't want the world to be left-handed, just a bit more even-handed."