Australian of the Year
Wednesday 14 June 2023
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (15:55): I rise in support of the amended motion and wish to congratulate everyone who was acknowledged in the motion. I would like to pay a special tribute, though, to Australian of the Year, Taryn Brumfitt. Taryn is one of my constituents, so I am very, very proud she is an Elder liver.
Taryn's work has meant a lot to me personally and to millions of people across the world. I, like far too many people, particularly women, have spent way too many years hating my body. I think about the cumulative hours I have spent talking myself down, holding onto the bits of me I do not like, counting calories and exercising for punishment not for gaining strength. I think about all these things that I have done to my body because I hated it and how much I do not want that for other people and how many hours I could have used to do much more useful things. I think the work of Taryn to help us to embrace ourselves and to embrace our bodies is incredibly meaningful, and I am so pleased that she has been properly acknowledged in this way.
Her line in the movie Embrace, when she said, 'My body is not an ornament; it is a vehicle,' was something that really resonated with me and something that made me go, 'Okay, this has to stop,' because we are so much more than this shell on the outside, and we have so much more to offer—I have so much more to offer—and I want to make sure that we can all support one another. I am so proud that someone in my area has been able to make such a tangible difference to so many millions of lives and also given us the tools to help make lives better for our children.
I never want my daughter to be worried about her body. I want her to know that she is much more than that. What is on the inside really does count. I thank Taryn for helping me realise that and for really pushing me to do better. She does not know me—other than my being her member of parliament and potentially the person she voted for, fingers crossed—but she has made an incredible difference to so many people's lives. I know, for me, she has helped me to improve the way I speak about food and our bodies to young people in my life.
I remember when I was about 13 an older woman in my family at a dinner at a Chinese restaurant, when they came round and said, 'Who wants dessert?', touched my hand and said, 'Oh, we don't need any, do we?' Some 23 years later, that has stuck with me. Our words matter, and children overhear what we say all the time. I often hear people say, 'I am going to go on a diet,' 'I don't like this,' and, 'I need to get a bikini-body ready.' When they say things like that, I actually now pull them aside and say quietly, 'Can you please not speak that way in front of my little girl? I don't want her hearing you disparage your body. I don't want her hearing about diets. I don't want her hearing about weight gain.'
I know I cannot protect her from that in the big, wide world, but I would like the people around her to speak about ideas and exciting things and history and things that are a lot more meaningful than how many calories are in a banana. I am proud that I am creating that environment at least at home and at least amongst our loved ones.
I do not think that older relative was trying to be nasty. I think that was a way for a very long time that women related to one another, that women spoke to one another. You were not allowed to say, 'I think I look great, I love myself, I am strong. My body does what it needs to do and it helps me to be the person I am.' For a long time, women shared diets and shared body hatred, and I think we can all be part of changing that conversation. I am really proud that Taryn was one of the first people to start the conversation on a really lowball level, so I congratulate her and thank her. I commend the motion.
