Former Olympian Libby Trickett has joined forces with Taryn Brumfitt and Dr Zali Yager to support community sporting clubs in creating a positive body image environment for kids.
Trickett, who has been outspoken about the negative impact of body-shaming on female athletes, will host a video masterclass to help community sports clubs better protect young people’s body image.
“Over my career my body has been the topic of countless conversations, without me present. I’ve been called too fat, too thin, too fit, too muscly, all while performing at my physical peak,” Trickett said on Wednesday.
“This experience isn’t unique to professional athletes – it’s something that starts when you are just a kid who loves a sport.
“I’ve had so many conversations with young people who’ve wanted to quit the sport they love due to the pressure they feel about their appearance.”
The free masterclass is an offering from Embrace Kids, the charity run by former Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt and body image expert Dr Zali Yager. It will aim to support parents, coaches and administrators to create a positive culture around body image in sporting clubs, and help change the way adults discuss and react to children’s bodies.
The aim is to prevent children from dropping out of community sport because they have experienced body shaming, judgement or embarrassment about their bodies.
Last year, a study undertaken by Visa and Year 13 showed over 30 per cent of girls had dropped out of sport because of body insecurity. Fifteen was the peak age for girls leaving sport behind for good.
“I remember when I was 16, a boy came up to me at training and told me I looked like a ‘butch bitch’, meaning I was incredibly fit and very muscular,” says Trickett.
“The phrasing of this comment stuck with me and made me feel deeply uncomfortable in a body that I was still learning to understand and before I knew what it was fully capable of.
“But it’s not just comments from peers that can hurt. Throughout my career I’ve had unsolicited body comments from coaches, trainers, spectators, not to mention the media – and it doesn’t get easier.”
AFLW player Sarah Perkins will also join Trickett in the masterclass as an advocate for diverse bodies in sport.
“Growing up for me was very different. There weren’t that many female athletes for me to look up to as a kid growing up loving sport,” Perkins said.
“Representation in the last eight years has changed because there are people like myself – people look at my body shape and the way that it is and they would automatically say, ‘That is not an athlete’s body’ and ‘I should not be shown as a role model’… unfortunately these are some comments that I have seen and social media’s quite brutal! But for every 100 negative comments that you read there are 1000 positive ones that can make you smile and make you realise that what you’re doing is real, and people see you for the person you are and not the way that you look.”
Perkins says we should all work on rethinking the language we use to talk about our bodies, especially in front of young people.
“I think it’s really important for the younger generation to see multiple body shapes and body types. I’d just say to any parent or even teammate or anyone just out in the community when you’re watching sport, it’s really important to think about the language you use,” Perkins said.
“Children are watching, they’re always watching and they’re always listening, especially the young ones – they’re sponges, they’ll soak up anything you say. So be who you are and be really confident in that, because you were made to be that way and don’t feel like you have to change for anyone.”