Carly Findlay

Carly Findlay (born 1981) is an Australian writer, speaker, arts worker and online influencer. Findlay describes herself as an 'appearance activist', and has been outspoken on a number of disability-related issues. She has been particularly vocal on the right to privacy of children with a disability as well as the importance of representation and inclusion of disabled people both in general life, and particularly in fashion. Findlay makes use of social media to document her love of fashion, food, as well as the treatment and ableism she faces because she has ichthyosis, a genetic disorder that affects her skin and hair. She has built a business and personal brand around being disabled. Her mother Jeanette was classified as coloured South African, while her father Roger was an Englishman.

The Findlay family moved from Albury to a small village, Walla Walla, before she started preschool.

Findlay attended Murray High School in Albury and, during her final year, started working at a local Kmart department store. Findlay recalls feeling more comfortable with hospital staff than her fellow students. She moved to Melbourne in 2003 to work for the Australian Public Service and completed her Masters of Communication from RMIT University from 2005 to 2012. and from September 2016 to May 2017, held the position of Communication Coordinator for People with Disability Australia Inc. The drivers in questions refused to transport Findlay, making comments on her appearance, alleged intoxication, and smell, and claiming she would damage their vehicle.

In 2017 Findlay appeared on the ABC television series You Can't Ask That and Cyber Hate with Tara Moss, and in 2018 she appeared on Channel Ten's The Project in response to an interview with Jon Faine on ABC Radio. On 28 March 2018, Findlay had appeared on ABC Radio's morning show to discuss microaggressions and disability. During the interview, the host Jon Faine described Findlay as looking like a “burns victim” and having a face that wouldn't “be good at Halloween”, before asking about her sex life.

Faine's line of questioning has been described by commentators and the public as “offensive”, “disrespectful” and “inappropriate”, while they described Findlay's reaction as “composed” and “polite”.

Findlay attributes most of her success to her appearance on You Can't Ask That.

Findlay is access and inclusion coordinator for the Melbourne Fringe Festival one day a week, as well as providing customised disability awareness, social media and blogging training to organisations. Propelled by her own experience of exclusion and elitism in fashion, in July 2018 she announced the first-ever disability-inclusive event to be held as part of Melbourne Fashion Week which was staged away from the main event.

"We're not treated the same when we go into stores. For me, I am sometimes not even spoken to. They think I am not going to want their clothes or their service, or they might be embarrassed to be seen with me,” Findlay said. It featured a number of models and fashion designers with disabilities. She takes “back the [ableist] gaze through social media” and her blog, using them as a platform to promote her brand, her love of fashion, ableism and the treatment and pain she experiences in association with her condition. Findlay has said she is grateful to her parents for not sharing her story without her consent and has taken issue with individual parents and parenting groups who have “overshared” their children's stories. In January 2025, Findlay said on her blog that she is "cancer-free".

Awards

Findlay was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the 2020 Australia Day Honours for "service to people with a disability".

2010 Yooralla Media Awards - Best Online Commentary 2011 Australian Public Service Australia Day Award 2012 Layne Beachley Aim for the Stars grant 2013 Yooralla Media Awards - Best Online Commentary 2013 Kidspot Voices - Best Personal Blog 2013 BUPA Health Activist Award for Positive Life Change 2013 Writers Victoria Write-ability fellowship 2014 Australian Financial Review and Westpac Australia 100 Women of Influence Awards 2014 Participant in The Guardian'''s Diverse Writers Program 2016 Second place winner in the disability category of the Australian Centre for Women in Leadership 2019 shortlisted for The Horne Prize for the essay "In Sickness and In Health" 2019 joint recipient of the Lesley Hall Scholarship run by Arts Access Victoria 2021 recipient of Victoria Award for Excellence in Women's Leadership 2023 nominee in Marie Claire'' Australia's Woman of the Year Awards - Changemaker category