Carly Findlay

Writer, speaker, appearance activist. Loving life!

  • About me
  • Say Hello – my book
  • Hire me!
  • Support Me
  • Contact
  • What is Ichthyosis?
  • Ichthyosis + appearance diversity resources
  • Disclaimer
  • Shop
  • Guest post contribution guidelines
  • Growing Up Disabled in Australia

Allyship must happen within the disability community, too.

June 8, 2021 Carly Findlay 1 Comment

Image: a black and white photo of me – a 30 something year old woman, with shiny red skin, wearing a floral dress and large head piece, holding a piece of paper, looking to the side, smiling. People are behind, out of focus.

Ableism hurts more when it comes from other disabled people.

Just because *you* didn’t find it inaccessible or discriminatory, it doesn’t mean others aren’t impacted.

I have learnt that I must look out of my own disability experience and create access and inclusion for many more in the disability community. I do this every single day – in my work in the arts, in writing, and online – and I see so many other disabled people striving to improve disability access, inclusion and representation.

Accessibility and inclusion is more than just getting in the door. It’s about feeling welcome, heard, engaged with and valued – not tokenised.

I also know I’m not going to get it right all the time. I don’t speak for every disabled person – nor do I want or claim to. I’ve made mistakes in how I’ve done activism – and I know I will continue to.

But I will continue to amplify voices, speak about disability rights issues that don’t impact me directly and pass the mic. I will continue to learn from and centre multiply marginalised, less privileged disabled people. I will always call for payment for disabled people’s lives experience and talent. And I will continue to get angry about inaccessibility and injustice – even if that doesn’t make me popular. Because allyship has to happen within the disability community, as well.

It’s not enough just to be included. It’s not enough for accessibility to be the afterthought. It’s not enough for only white disabled people to be visible. It’s not enough to only be hearing from non-intellectually disabled people. It’s not enough for accessibility to only be available on request. It’s not enough for only one type of access provision to exist. It’s not enough to politely laugh exclusion off for fear you might upset the very people who created the ableist structures. It is not enough to only want to conform in non disabled spaces, and not make room in disabled spaces.

I demand access, inclusion and representation for me – and I demand it for all other disabled people, especially those whose voices and faces aren’t often centred, and even when it doesn’t affect me directly.

Has this post helped you? Will you use it in your work? Please consider buying me a drink. 

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Uncategorized

Trackbacks

  1. Careful, your privilege is showing | Diabetogenic says:
    June 24, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    […] Which is great! Her response is no less significant than others with opposing views. Others who have a different reaction have every right to be heard just as loudly. And they should not be called ‘difficult’, ‘angry’ or ‘aggressive’ for communicating their views in their own way. Appearance activist, Carly Findlay has made some excellent points about this issue, also addressing how it’s not okay that people are criticised for how they are addressing their concerns. Tone policing is rife. (You can read more from Carly here.)  […]

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Socials

  • View tune.into.radio.carly’s profile on Facebook
  • View @carlyfindlay’s profile on Twitter
  • View carlyfindlay’s profile on Instagram
  • View sqoggle’s profile on YouTube

Book me to speak

Sign up for some love in your inbox

Listen to my podcast

Tune in

Enter your email address to receive new posts by email.

Archives

Popular Posts

  • Peppermint Magazine feature - Disabled Icons
  • The death of Offspring's Dr Patrick Reid. The TV death that stopped a nation.
  • Miss You Love - an analysis of a beautful Silverchair song
  • Wonder by RJ Palacio. Choose kind.
  • What's with the image descriptions on my social media posts?
  • Creamoata: a much loved, yet lost food of my childhood. Help me find it.
  • Why I will write for free.
  • My review of Wonder the film
  • Skin Stories podcast with Olivia Molly Rogers
  • A falling out of love letter to Gorman

Copyright

The material on Tune into Radio Carly is copyright. The writing in this blog is by Carly Findlay unless otherwise stated. Most photos in this blog are by Carly Findlay unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without permission from Carly Findlay. This blog represents my personal opinions and experiences. It does not reflect those of my employers'. The information I provide about ichthyosis is mostly based on personal experiences. Please seek medical advice or counseling before trying any new treatments I've written about. Where stared, I use affiliate links on this blog. By clicking them, I receive a small percentage of the purchase.

Copyright © 2023 · Daily Dish Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.