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. Poet, activist, and novelist living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and myalgic encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Author of "Pathogenesis" and "Origami Striptease," and editor of the acclaimed anthology, "Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."

Interviewer:

Yiu, Wei Si Nic

Interviewee:

Munson, Peggy

Persons Present:

Munson and Yiu

Place Conducted:

This interview was conducted asynchronously over email.

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 Wei Si Nic Yiu, a graduate student researcher, for the Center for the Study of Women; PhD student in Gender Studies, UCLA. Yiu’s dissertation focuses on queerness and archives of Asia.

Processing of Interview:

The interviewer prepared for the interview by reading a pre-interview questionnaire completed by the narrator.

Length:

1.75 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.

Questions for Peggy—Introduction of Munson—Growing up in Normal, Illinois and family background—Description of neighborhood—Remembering Illinois and the agriculture—Description of childhood home—Significant scents in childhood home—Memories of food and the smell of spices.

Questions for Peggy—Description of “The Common Ground” (Peggy’s Mother’s health food store)—On family dynamics—Getting ill at twenty-three years old and living in Oberlin—Increasing sensitivity towards chemicals and fragrances—Cooking as a hobby and food as a part of healing process—Toleration of essential oils and reactions towards fragrances and chemicals—Description of Normal, Illinois as a place “loaded with pesticides”—On Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber and the statistics in her book—Sister and best friend diagnosed with breast cancer, linkages to high levels of pesticides—Description of DDT in the area and its impact on her upbringing—Discussion of how Ciba-Geigy and Novartis have sponsored knowledge in Illinois—On family support and views of her MCS—First started with support and shifted towards seeing MCS as a delusion.

Questions for Peggy—On myalgic encephalomyelitis—Realizing symptoms at twenty-three years old and discussion of how health/life change overnight—On being bed bound and working from home—Moving to Western Massachusetts to alleviate symptoms—Learning about herbal approaches to treating Lyme and tick-borne illnesses—Taking classes at a Shiatsu School, with some focus on traditional Chinese medicine—On the impact of gender in the experience of illness in Normal, Illinois—On how MECFS is characterized by different governmental agencies and in pop culture—On Elaine Showalter’s argument in Hystories and on writing Stricken (2006)—On negotiating caregiving hours and setup—Discussion of caregiving funding and finding joyous activities—On symptoms and the challenge of asking others to convert to fragrance free products—On Ciba-geigy’s documentary and marketing in Normal, Illinois—On family member’s perception of MCS as a form of delusional illness—Critical analysis of the psychiatric agenda used to construct MCS.

Trigger warning on suicide due to medical neglect. Questions for Peggy—On discovering symptoms of MCS—Working part time in San Francisco—Receiving care from different doctors—On the experience of obtaining disability benefits—On the different experiences interacting with medical professionals—On being a self-advocate as a patient—Her medical experiences while hospitalized—An account of friends’ and communities’ experiences with medical professionals regarding MCS related symptoms—Description of the medical biases that folks with MCS experience in the medical setting—Description of the MCS community online—The emotional difficulties of navigating a social life with folks whom experience hardship like MCS—Description on work arrangements—On the difficulty of enforcing fragrance-free policies—Creating an accessible space.

Questions for Peggy—On online communities and friendship—Description of the importance of friendship as a source of support—On mental health care—The difficulties of finding a MCS advocate—On advocating for fragrance-free accommodation at health center—Description of self-advocacy in writing letters to artists and writers’ colonies to educate folks on MCS—Writing as an activist effort—On residency and publication of Pathogenesis—On societal relationships of fragrances and chemicals—Unsettling the narrative of accommodation versus personal choice in thinking about MCS—On the importance of education and hypersensitivity as a superpower—Shifting the image of living chemical free—Building intimacy with the world around her.