Oral Histories

Interview of Sherri Fincutter

Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. Developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivities in 1992. Due to subsequent exposure to pesticides is predominantly housebound.
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. Developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivities in 1992. Due to subsequent exposure to pesticides is predominantly housebound.
Interviewer:
Kim, Kelsey
Interviewee:
Fincutter, Sherri
Persons Present:
Fincutter and Kim
Place Conducted:
This interview was conducted by telephone.
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 in cooperation with UCLA Center for Oral History Research; PhD student in Anthropology, UCLA. Kim’s dissertation focused 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:
1.25 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.
Difficulty establishing clear phone connection––Growing up mainly in Wisconsin¬¬––Family and parents’ occupations––Moving around with military father––Making friends––Mother sensitive and miscarried––Father exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam––Realizing sensitivity due to everyday difficulties––Taking care of self through isolating ––Neighbors’ pesticide spray and lawn chemicals––Adjusting to sensitivity and doing research––Helping mother––Husband’s job driving a semi and exposure––Early years and growing up––Starting photography business and then closing––Exposure to possible hospital sanitizer––2006 exposure to Weed-B-Gon––Experiences with doctors––Uses mainly natural remedies––Lack of support from family––Lawn treatments––Missing chromosome in liver–– Natural remedies––Independence in her treatment––Lack of familial support––Husband’s family’s health––Lack of support from husband––Religion to cope––Difficult to find people to talk to––Postcards about lawn chemical 2,4-D––Neighbors say she is harassing them––Decreased wildlife and trees in the area––Hoping to see laws passed against lawn chemicals––Man spraying lawn chemicals during a windy day––Possible problems with trucks carrying chemicals––Roundup and Monsanto–– Pesticide Action Network and diseases connected with chemical use––Family and friends personally known who have died of cancer––Monsanto lobbying and conducting in-house tests––Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring started research––Wrapping up the interview––Explaining legal agreement––People who are chemically sensitive were healthy at one point.