Taryn Brumfitt's inspiring global message to women about their bodies.

The relationship women have with their bodies is often difficult and complex. Fraught with fear, disappointment, unrealistic hopes and expectations, and tragically a lot of self-hate, it’s one many of us will struggle with on and off for years.

EMBRACE will premiere this Sunday, June 12th, at the Sydney Film Festival. Get your tickets here.

For filmmaker Taryn Brumfitt, something had to change.

“Why do so many people hate their bodies, and what can we do about it?” Brumfitt asks in the trailer for her new documentary, Embrace.

Taryn Brumfitt, the Embrace documentary maker. Source: Transmission.

"For years, society has been telling women to be beautiful, as if that's the most important thing you can be."

Premiering at the 2016 Sydney Film Festival,  Embrace offers a powerful insight into how and why societies around the world have subjected themselves to unrealistic beauty standards, the damage it's doing, and how we can move past it all.

Brumfitt with Turia Pitt. Source: Transmission. 

Brumfitt is no stranger to body image issues. After giving birth to three children, she hated her body and felt out of control. So she turned to competitive body building. But even after all the workouts and training and managed eating and tanning and planning, she still wasn't at one with her body.

Brumfitt's now world famous before and after image. Source: Transmission.

Brumfitt decided to post a comparison photo between her "two bodies" to Facebook. The picture went viral, garnering over 258,000 likes. Brumfitt decided it was time to take action to ensure that her daughter - along with countless other girls out there - can avoid growing up without the same self-loathing and uncertainty in their worth.

And so she started The Body Image Movement, a blog as she describes on her website as, "this unwavering desire to teach, educate and shout around the world that loving your body can bring you happiness and by learning to do so, change lives forever."

"This body of mine," she continues, "it's not an ornament. It's a vehicle."

Of her original post to Facebook Taryn says : People were astonished – how could a woman possibly love her body ‘after’, with the visible signs of bearing three children? Many applauded her for her bravery in posting such raw imagery while many berated her for promoting obesity, going as far as labelling her a poor role model for her kids.ON her

EMBRACE will premiere this Sunday, June 12th, at the Sydney Film Festival. Get your tickets here.