EMBRACING TARYN

45-year-old Aussie mother of four Taryn Brumfitt is on a mission for meaningful change. Through her award-winning films, best-selling books and international speaking engagements, she has spent the last 10 years empowering people around the world to discover what’s possible when you embrace your life and purpose and she can now add Australian of the Year to her long list of accolades.

Taryn Brumfitt leads the Body Image Movement, an Adelaide-based organisation that teaches people to love and appreciate their bodies and her 10 years of work have led to The Prime Minister, The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, announcing her as the 2023 Australia of the Year.

movement and make the now infamous documentary Embrace to encourage women to be positive about their bodies.

The 2016 documentary tackled the serious issue of women’s body loathing and Taryn’s path to body acceptance. It was seen by millions of people in 190 countries and is today available on Netflix.

Taryn has now written four best-selling books and in September 2022 released another documentary, Embrace Kids, which aims to teach kids aged nine to 14 to move, nourish, respect and appreciate what their bodies can do. Embrace Kids is an uplifting film which brings together a vibrant collection of stories from young people and famous friends alike (Celeste Barber, Erin Phillips, Jameela Jamil), who share their experiences about body image, bullying, gender identity, advocacy, representation and more.

Taryn has also collaborated with body image expert Dr Zali Yager to create an Embrace Kids companion parenting book as well as The Embrace Hub – a free, research-based resource for teachers, parents, children and communities on fostering body positivity.

Not without controversy

The photo that started it all

An unconventional before and after social media post started it all 10 years ago when the above shot went viral due to its 'reverse' nature.

In the "before" photo Taryn stands on stage as a fit body builder. She looks happy, but she later said it was at that moment she realised the hours of daily exercise and restricted eating had indeed not made her happy at all.

The after photo is a much more relateable shot for mamas like us. Cellulite, stretch marks, folds, rolls, all the things, said Taryn.

Seeing this response to a post was crazy, that a woman learns to embrace her body, and it becomes headline news in most countries around the world. So Taryn used this global attention to launch her body image

Just hours after Taryn was announced as Australian of the Year, former radio host and journalist Mike Carlton Tweeted that the award should have instead to a doctor or nurse working in an emergency department, not "someone who makes a buck out of saying it's OK to be a bit fat".

He then received a barrage of replies, some agreeing, but many saying body image and eating disorders were big issues in Australia and were worthy of being highlighted by an Australian of the Year.

"Wow. You have clearly never dealt with body image issues that are debilitating for so many. Enormous industries built up on making people feel shit about themselves, destroying themselves in pursuit of an impossible ideal. She speaks truth to a different power."

"I take your point about health workers, but eating disorders are a huge and underreported health issue and your take both misrepresents and diminishes Taryn Brunfitt’s work and the importance of what she does, especially for young women."

"You might want to keep an open mind on this one Mike. With research showing children as young as four (boys and girls) expressing negative body image and suicidal ideation rather than feeling empowered and strong in their bodies we have a serious problem. It’s an important issue."

So what's next?

Taryn won't be one to let the naysayers get her down and will now be able to leverage her new-found fame to influence governments to take on her message.

She said she spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after receiving the award along with several other Commonwealth ministers and has now organised to meet South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas to talk about her goals — and funding.

"I've got a meeting with the premier in a couple of weeks and I'm so excited to sit down with him, especially now, and really talk about some funding and some resources," she said.

"I'm such a proud South Australian and I'm very keen to focus on SA and be the global leaders in this space.

"Let's get our kids right and let's show the world what we can do when we embrace our bodies, so yes to resources, yes to money, and then we can get it out free to all schools."

"We really need to help our kids across Australia and the world because the rates of suicide, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, steroid use, all on the increase related to body dissatisfaction."

Taryn wants to give children an "armour" to protect themselves from the messages from the diet and cosmetic industry and social media and we can't wait to see where her movement goes.

Find out more at theembracehub.com