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From: jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Shirt buttons
Message-ID: <302@rtech.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 21-Apr-85 02:46:05 EST
Article-I.D.: rtech.302
Posted: Sun Apr 21 02:46:05 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Apr-85 01:23:44 EST
References: <1649@decwrl.UUCP> <1648@ittvax.UUCP>
Organization: Relational Technology, Berkeley CA
Lines: 39

> > Does anyone know why (historically and currently) women's shirts button
> > right over left and men's button left over right (or is it vice versa)?
> > 
> > Elizabeth Clayton
> 
> A possible explanation comes from the biology of the brain. 
> 
> The human brain is functionally divided into two lateral parts: The
> left part handles mainly the sequential, rational and "scientific"
> thoughts, while the right part handles the artistic, emotional
> and philosophical thoughts.
> ... 
> Statistically, most WOMEN are RIGHT-BRAINED (ie. the right part of
> their brain is more developed than the left part), while most 
> MEN are LEFT-BRAINED.

Do you have evidence of this, or is it something you believe because
it fits the stereotypes of the ways that men and women think?

> Because the SYMMETRY of the human nervous system, the left part
> of the brain controls the right parts of the human body (arms,
> hands, legs..) while the right part of the brain controls the
> left body parts.  
> 
> Therefore, most women are cleverer with their left hands than
> they are with their right hands, which makes it easier
> for them to button right-over-left buttons than the other way
> around. This is why male shirts are left over right buttoned,
> while female shirts are right over left buttoned.
> 
> Also, statistically, more women are left-handed than men. 

Even if more women than men are left-handed (I had never heard this),
most women are still right-handed.  It is simply not true that
"most women are cleverer with their left hands than they are with
their right hands"; this would mean that most women are left-handed.
-- 
Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.)
aka Swazoo Koolak