Women Lead Story - Taryn Brumfitt

Taryn Brumfitt is an Australian author, speaker, and activist who has been named the 2023 Australian of the Year. She is widely known for her work promoting body positivity and acceptance through her organisation, the Body Image Movement, which she founded in 2013. Brumfitt has dedicated her career to inspiring people of all body shapes and sizes to love their bodies as they are, challenging societal beauty standards, and celebrating diversity.

In 2016, Brumfitt gained international attention when she posted a before-and-after photo of herself on Facebook, which went viral. The photo showed her before she had transformed her body through intense exercise and dieting, and after, where she embraced her natural body shape. Her post encouraged people to love their bodies as they are and sparked a global conversation about body positivity.

Brumfitt is an internationally recognised keynote speaker whose work is recognised by UN Women. She has collaborated with body image expert Dr. Zali Yager to create the "Embrace Kids" companion parenting book and the Embrace Hub, a free, research-based resource for anyone on fostering body positivity.

In her acceptance speech, Brumfitt emphasised the importance of addressing the paediatric health emergency in Australia, where children are being bullied and shamed into thinking that their bodies are the problem. She called on Australians to reject these harmful messages and embrace body positivity and acceptance instead. With her continued dedication to the body positivity movement, Taryn Brumfitt is an inspiration to many around the world, and her work is helping to create a more inclusive and accepting society for all.