As a male, it was a shock to hear that over 90% of women dislike their body and the most common adjective used by women to describe their own is "disgusting". The film records with warmth and sensitivity the views of women who reflect the diversity of the female form, and it is impossible to not be touched by their stories. In the only scene dominated by a male, Brumfitt subjects herself to an assessment by a cosmetic surgeon who shames and prods her like bits of meat begging for a scalpel. Everywhere she goes, media-scapes are dominated by images of underweight women who dare not eat normally but whose images create unattainable role models. The global reaction led her to crowdfund a film and travel across several continents interviewing prominent and ordinary women who speak openly about their bodies. It also flushed out large numbers of vitriolic trolls whose fantasies were threatened.
Expressing pride in her 'after' shape was a simple gesture that shocked millions into thinking about the body image cultural prison that tyrannises women. In other words, the 'before' image represented the idealised female form posing in a bodybuilding contest while the 'after' image represented comfortable self-acceptance after having three children. Its impact comes from the way it does not preach, it does not lecture, rather it reaches out to both men and women everywhere and asks why is the tyranny of body shaming continuing into the modern era? Director Taryn Brumfitt created a social media firestorm when she posted 'before and after' images of herself but reversed the order in which people expect them to appear. The Australian-produced film Embrace (2016) is an outstanding example of documentary storytelling with potential to change attitudes towards the perception of women's bodies. Documentaries are a great platform for social and political enlightenment and there no limits to their educational power.
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