Oral Histories

Interview of Beauty Belle

Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. Experiences Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Advocates for MCS through direct communication: writing letters to CEOS about changing their products and talking to business owners to consider the impact of the products they use.
Series:
Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness
Topic:
Social Movements
Environmental Illness
Biographical Note:
Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. Experiences Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Advocates for MCS through direct communication: writing letters to CEOS about changing their products and talking to business owners to consider the impact of the products they use.
Interviewer:
Kim, Kelsey
Interviewee:
Belle, Beauty
Persons Present:
Belle and Kim
Place Conducted:
The interview was conducted using the Zoom video conferencing platform.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
This interview was conducted by Kelsey Kim, graduate student interviewer, for the Center for the Study of Women; PhD student in Anthropology, UCLA. Kim’s dissertation focuses on gender and racial inequalities in the Silicon Valley high-tech industry.
Processing of Interview:
The interviewer prepared for the interview by reading a pre-interview questionnaire completed by the narrator.
Length:
2 hrs
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Audio:
Series Statement:
Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness is a collection of interviews with over seventy individuals living in the U.S. and Canada whose family history, occupation, art practice, or activism have brought them into direct contact with illness experience and disability related to chronic, low-dose exposure to toxicant chemicals. The procurement of this collection (from March 2019 through September 2020) was sponsored by the UCLA Center for the Study of Women under the directorship of Rachel C. Lee, with interviews conducted by six undergraduates, five graduate students, two career staff, and two faculty members at CSW.
Background--Childhood and hobbies--Post high school and work life--Noticing MCS symptoms at work--Move to the South--Noticing MCS due to perfume and cologne of coworkers--Lack of support for MCS--Different experiences with healthcare professionals--ADA and work--Effect of MCS on family and friends--Helping friends discover their own chemical sensitivities--Daily and home life--Social life and traveling--ADA laws and winning/losing battles of MCS--Emotional and mental toll of MCS--Why fight for MCS--Experience with hospitals ignoring MCS--Resources from joining Asthma Association of America