"Ready for change": Taryn Brumfitt honoured as Australian of the Year
<p>2023’s Australian of the year has been announced, and the honour has gone to writer, director, mother of four, and body image activist Taryn Brumfitt. </p>
<p>The award ceremony was held on January 26 in Canberra, with a host of familiar faces in attendance, including Australia’s own prime minister Anthony Albanese. </p>
<p>South Australian Taryn received the award for her work in helping people everywhere learn to love their bodies. She rose to prominence in 2013 after a before-and-after photo she shared to Facebook went viral. The post highlighted how her body had changed since giving up her strict bodybuilding regime. </p>
<p>As she told the ABC, “my ‘after’ is as I am now, cellulite, stretch marks, folds, rolls, all the things.”</p>
<p>Taryn used the trajectory of the viral post to launch her body image campaign, has since produced and released three documentaries, including one titled <em>Embrace </em>which focused on Taryn’s path to body acceptance and the struggle of body loathing.</p>
<p>"We weren't born into the world hating our bodies,” the 45-year-old said in her speech on Thursday, “this is something the world has taught us.</p>
<p>“Body shaming is a universal problem and we have been bullied and shamed into thinking our bodies are the problem.”</p>
<p>To combat this issue, Taryn founded the Body Image Movement (BIM) in 2012. The BIM is based in Taryn’s hometown of Adelaide, and declares itself to be an “international mission to help people embrace their bodies.”</p>
<p>The organisation calls on the likes of educational resources, documentaries, speeches, and books to promote positive body image and to create content that is engaging for people of all ages.</p>
<p>In her acceptance speech, Taryn stressed the importance of targeting the issue of negative body image in children, calling on adults to step up and help, and the government to tackle “a paediatric health emergency.”</p>
<p>“What if instead of spending our days consumed by hating our bodies, we could invest our time together to solve these challenges?” She asked of her listeners, and of Australia, “and what if instead of spending their precious time and energy at war with their bodies our young people were free to become the leaders, big thinkers and game changers the world needs more of right now?</p>
<p>“It is not our bodies that need to change, it is our perspective. Every adult is a role model to a child and I'm not here to shame you or make you feel bad, I'm here to ask you to shift the way you think.”</p>
<p>The 45-year-old went on to share her hope for Australia’s future generations, and what it would mean for Australians - and people from all around the world - to embrace their bodies, and to learn to love themselves.</p>
<p>“If we can embrace that perspective now while we are capable, breathing and able, and have the gratitude for our bodies we can all access a more joyous, rich and abundant life.</p>
<p>"There is a lot of work to do and it starts early and it starts with us being role models for our kids by creating empowering environments where they can thrive. We're tired of just talking about it, we are tired of the misery and pain of hating our bodies. </p>
<p>“My goodness Australia, we are ready for change, for ourselves and the generations to come.”</p>
<p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>
