Maybe I’m the best person to do this’: Australian of the Year hits back at critics

She’s been at the centre of a heated debate since being named AOY last month, now body image activist Taryn Brumfitt has broken her silence about the naysayers

When Taryn Brumfitt was named Australian of the Year last month, it marked the culmination of a decade’s worth of passion she has thrown into teaching Australians – and the world – that body image is so much more than just the reflection in a mirror or the number on a scale. Now, in her first in-depth sit-down since winning the award, the activist tells Stellar about the strides she’s made, answers the critics who dismiss the nature of her work and claim that body positivity is causing rising obesity rates, and reveals what the future holds – including an upcoming wedding

On the process of being nominated for – and then winning – Australian of the Year:

“‘Right, who’s your competition?’ That was the narrative. But you meet these incredible people doing incredible things and you’re just so humbled to be in the category with them. And then, of course, imposter syndrome jumps in. It’s like, ‘What am I doing here? They’re going to find out that I’m not meant to be here.’

“When [Prime Minister Anthony Albanese] read my name out, it was quite a moment. Everyone has asked me, ‘Do you know before that moment?’ You don’t. It’s not just because I’m highly competitive, but I really had hoped to have taken this title to be able to use it and amplify the work I’ve been doing for the past decade.”

Taryn Brumfitt: ‘nothing has changed me in the past 10 years, just like [winning] Australian of the Year won’t change me’ Picture: Hugh Stewart for Stellar.

Taryn Brumfitt: ‘We’ve got to stick our noses back out of people’s business. Because it’s not our business’ Picture: Hugh Stewart for Stellar.

On the outpouring of interest after Brumfitt posted before-and-after photos of herself on Facebook in 2013 and admitted that she was deeply unhappy once she had achieved a “bikini body”. The response ultimately kickstarted her advocacy work and led her to make the 2016 social-impact documentary Embrace, a global exploration of body loathing and self image that reached an international audience:

“No-one could have expected what happened. I couldn’t. I mean, I was a photographer; I had three young children at the time. I’d never done anything in the media.

“[At] my first TV interview with Georgie Gardner on the Today show, I was freaking out. I didn’t want to be there. It has really challenged me, the work that I’ve done to put myself out there… because I didn’t choose to do this.

“[But] nothing has changed me in the past 10 years, just like [winning] Australian of the Year won’t change me. So maybe I’m the best person to do this, because I’m really focused on helping people and changing the narrative.”

On the negative reaction to her win from some predominantly male critics:

“It’s super easy [to dismiss me] because this is what people don’t know: people who appreciate their bodies are more likely to engage in physical activity; they’re more likely to eat fruit and vegetables; they’re more likely to put on sunscreen.

“There’s increasing evidence that suggests that body shame and weight bias, discrimination and stigma have significant negative impacts on physical health. So if we’re really concerned about other people, how about we just stop commenting on their appearance and their weight, their weight loss, their weight gain? Who cares?

“Yesterday, [I was asked] about Celeste Barber and all the people [who are angry] because she’d lost weight. Really? Do we really care that someone’s a size 16 or 14 or a 12 or an eight? It just shouldn’t be part of the conversation.

“I follow Celeste because I want to laugh. Whether she does that in a size-16 or size-eight body, I don’t care. We’ve got to stick our noses back out of people’s business. Because it’s not our business.”

Taryn Brumfitt: ‘We’ve got to start listening to the science’ Picture: Hugh Stewart for Stellar.

On suggestions that the body-positivity movement has played a key role in rising obesity rates:

“It’s something I’ve been asked [about] every time I speak. I’m in schools, in media interviews, and I think it’s an important conversation that we have to dispel some of the misconceptions around body acceptance and its impact on physical health. We need to remember that body image is about so much more than just weight or size. It’s our thoughts and feelings about all of us – our gender, our age, our height, all of those.

“Research shows that body appreciation leads us to a more stable weight over time… So the conversation around ‘obesity’ and having that stigma and having that shame, and being bullied into feeling a particular way, doesn’t actually drive someone to positive health outcomes. We’ve got to start listening to the science.

“I think what this country needs is a public awareness campaign around [the science], because people think what they think and [what] they’ve thought their whole lives – and they haven’t really questioned those thoughts. If we can hit them up with some ‘Here is the science, here are the facts,’ then people can come at this with more understanding and empathy, as opposed to shame and judgement. I’ve seen so much nastiness around there. I think about that collective energy we throw towards people in larger bodies. What could we do with that energy that solves bigger and more important problems in the world?”

Taryn Brumfitt stars on the cover of this Sunday’s Stellar. Picture: Hugh Stewart for Stellar.

On her upcoming wedding (due to take place in a matter of days) to her partner, nurse Tim Pearson:

“I only just got the dress. So that’s the planning... My two best girlfriends called an emergency meeting last week and said, ‘You’re going to have to make some decisions if you’re going to get married.’

So I’m not a bridezilla. I’m marrying the man I love; that’s what’s really important to me. I just want that moment, and I really want to be his wife, and I want him to be my husband. I’ve been really blessed to have met the love of my life.”

Visit theembracecollective.org to find out more about Taryn and The Embrace Collective, or check out theembracehub.com for free body image resources for parents, students and teachers.

Originally published as Maybe I’m the best person to do this’: Australian of the Year hits back at critics