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Multiple Chemical Sensitivities: Stigma and Social Experiences
Author(s) -
LIPSON JULIENE G.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.2004.18.2.200
Subject(s) - ethnography , stigma (botany) , psychology , everyday life , context (archaeology) , multiple chemical sensitivity , social psychology , social environment , sociology , social stigma , medicine , social science , psychiatry , epistemology , anthropology , family medicine , paleontology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , philosophy , biology
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), an intolerance to everyday chemical and biological substances in amounts that do not bother other people, is a medically contested condition. In addition to symptoms and the ongoing difficulties of living with this condition, this hidden and stigmatized disability strongly impacts social relationships and daily life. Based on an ethnographic study, this article introduces the context of MCS in terms of cultural themes, the media, and the economic power of industries that manufacture the products that make people with MCS sick. Participants' experiences with family members and friends, in work and school settings, and with physicians exemplify the difficulties of living with MCS. I dedicate this article to Joan Ablon, my professor and mentor, whose work has always inspired my thinking and research topics. [multiple chemical sensitivities, environmental illness, stigma, hidden disabilities, medically contested diagnoses]