TARYN BRUMFITT:
Just because my body didn’t
conform to the ‘ideal’ of what a
healthy body looked like, I was
judged, ridiculed and bullied,’ says
Taryn.
TEACHING WOMEN
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
TO EMBRACE THEIR BODY
By Toni Krasicki
‘before’ image shows Taryn looking buff
and competing in a Fitness Competition,
and the ‘after’ image, of Taryn looking,
well, the opposite of the former image.
O
pen a magazine
and there’ll be
a story about
women and men the world
over, from teenagers to
athletes beating themselves
up about their ‘not-quiteideal’ body shape. Taryn
Brumfitt has been there
too and has decided to
do something about this
negativity, taking on the
role of positive body image
activist.
The premise behind the campaign is to
encourage people to have a healthy
relationship with their body. Taryn says
that she hopes women in particular,
will love and respect their bodies, feel
liberated, free and joyous, irrespective of
their colour, shape, size or abilities.
The movement gained recognition when
Taryn posted ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos
of herself on her blog.
What created the deluge of comments
was that the photos were reversed,
unlike the ones usually posted. The
‘Just because my body didn’t conform
to the ‘ideal’ of what a healthy body
looked like, I was judged, ridiculed and
bullied,’ says Taryn. ‘I not only felt angry,
I felt sad, sad that so many people were
incredibly narrow minded when it came
to the diversity of the human form.’
The comments, both positive and
negative, created a sensation, but
Taryn says she was surprised of being
accused of promoting obesity and being
unhealthy.
The release of her book Embrace earlier
this year, enabled Taryn to tell her story
with the ultimate goal to inspire others
and create positive change on a global
scale. ‘Writing Embrace was freeing
and I was able to share so much wi