Her politics may be left inclined but does Taylor Swift’s hand dominance follow suit? Has she defied the odds to become part of the world’s 10% of left handers?
No, Taylor Swift is not left-handed. She writes and plays the guitar with her right hand. However, Taylor admitted that she suffers from hand cramps and fatigue, so she has adopted a unique method of holding a pen to help combat this.
Interested in learning more about Taylor Swift’s unusual pen-holding tendencies? Then stay tuned! In this article we’ll be covering everything from how she holds a pen, to whether she has insured her hands.
Playing the Guitar
She may have written a song called ‘Dancing With My Hands Tied’, but which hand does Taylor Swift use when she’s performing it on stage with her guitar?
Since learning to play at the age of 12, Taylor has been using her right hand to play the guitar. Guitar playing requires a lot of effort from both hands, but the plucking hand is generally seen as the dominant hand because ultimately it’s what makes the music. In a fan-made YouTube video titled ‘Evolution of Taylor Swift Playing Acoustic Guitar’ Taylor is seen from the ages of 13 to 26 strumming with her right hand and using a right-handed guitar.
There is some speculation floating around the Internet that Taylor can play with both hands, but this is not true. This image, for example, has been reversed. Taylor is actually strumming the guitar with her right hand, you can tell because the ‘Taylor’ writing on the neck of the guitar is back to front. Unless Swift is trying to be quirky I’m not sure why this would be the case?
Even though she always uses a right-handed guitar, Taylor is an advocate for accessibility. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the bespoke guitar Swift released in collaboration with Taylor Guitars is available in both a right-handed and left-handed version.
Writing
The same is true of Taylor’s handwriting capacity – she predominantly writes with her right hand. However, unlike most people, who hold pens between their thumb and index finger, Swift holds pens between her index and middle finger. This can be seen in a video posted by Taylor on Twitter.
At first, fans thought this was weird, and the media published a handful of articles ridiculing Taylor. But it turns out it is surprisingly common.
Taylor explained that she uses her hands so much on a day-to-day basis that she suffers from cramps. A full schedule of signing autographs, playing the guitar, and writing new music is bound to take a toll on Taylor’s hands. So she adopted the technique to take the strain away.
According to Huge Lol, this method prevents you from bending your wrist whilst writing, which in turn prevents cramp. This style of holding a pen is also said to prevent calluses.
Are Taylor Swift’s Hands Insured?
As a guitar-playing songwriter Taylors income is hugely dependent on her capacity to make and perform music. So has Swift taken steps to insure her hands against future accidents?
Taylor wouldn’t be the first celebrity to insure a body part. Back in the 90s rumors circulated that Jennifer Lopez had insured her bum for 1 billion dollars, and Dolly Parton has reportedly insured her ample bust for $600,000.
But Taylor must not be overly worried about the health and functioning of her hands since she has not (yet) insured them. However, she has supposedly insured her infamous legs.
Celebrities can choose to insure body parts forever or just for specific events, such as an awards show. It seems Taylor went with the former option, as Daily Mail reports that Swift insured her toned pins back in 2015 for $40 million.
Do you think Taylor Swift’s legs are worth $40 million? Let us know in the comments below.