What’s next for our Australian of the Year Embrace’s Taryn Brumfitt
Australian of the Year, Cumberland Park mum-of-three Taryn Brumfitt, is ready to make men sit up and take notice as she teaches them how to accept their bodies.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
International body image crusader Taryn Brumfitt is looking forward to shifting the focus to men now she has been named the 2023 Australian of the Year.
The 45-year-old Adelaide documentary maker, writer and public speaker was awarded the nation’s top honour by the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a ceremony in Canberra on Wednesday evening.
Founder of The Body Image Movement – an Adelaide-based body positivity organisation – Brumfitt’s work has been seen by 200 million people globally and is recognised by the UN.
Her 2016 film Embrace – encouraging women to not only accept but love their bodies – was seen by people in 190 countries and is available on Netflix.
A spin-off directed at children aged nine to 14, Embrace Kids, was released in September 2022.
Another doco, with the working title Embrace Men, is being planned.
“It’s still at the finance stage,” Brumfitt told The Advertiser following the ceremony, adding: “Financing the film will be easier now.”
While Brumfitt will need to raise $1m to make Embrace Men, she is confident it will be an invaluable resource.
“I want everyone to understand body image is not just about women or kids, but men also – everybody,” she said, adding her filmmaking was “about giving back”.
“We lead with generosity. This is good for the world,
“I am taking the conversation about what it has been – hashtag love your body – to being a serious subject.”
Embrace Men will put the eyes of the world on men and their need for body positivity, which leads to improved health and wellbeing.
But Brumfitt, who is a mum-of-three, does not want anyone to lose sight of children.
As part of her global vision she wants to ensure that Embrace Kids is seen by one million Australian schoolchildren in the next 12 months; Brumfitt has also collaborated with body image expert Dr Zali Yager on Embrace Hub, a free body image positivity resource for schools and the broader community.
PROFILED: Who is Taryn Brumfitt
Within minutes of being named Australian of the Year, Brumfitt expressed interest in meeting with the federal government.
Citing an alarming statistic – that 70 per cent of Australian schoolchildren say body image is their greatest concern – Brumfitt said there was a “paediatric health emergency”.
Adolescents with poor body image were 24 times more likely to develop depression and anxiety, she said.
Determined to stay in Adelaide, Brumfitt wants to put South Australia on the map.
“I would love our state to lead the world in getting body image right for every man, woman and child,” she said.
Hoping to meet with Premier Peter Malinauskas as soon as possible, Brumfitt said she had engaged in several conversations with Mr Albanese about educating the next generation.
“The burden this will take off the health-care system is not to be ignored,” she said.
Australians appear to be taking notice; Brumfitt’s followers on social media increased by “thousands within minutes” of her being announced as the Australian of the Year, she said.
Brumfitt added of hearing her name: “It was an out-of-body experience. I was just so elated in that moment and so excited to have an opportunity to really run with this.”
‘It’s me who owes much to so many others, especially the SA community’
He served as a senator for 18 years, now Simon Birmingham sends a heartfelt farewell as he bows out from the political arena.
‘I’m a millionaire’: SA mother and mystery winner hit the jackpot
Two South Australians have scored a combined lottery prize of more than $3.4m, but one mystery winner is still oblivious to their multimillion-dollar jackpot.