The controversial March 2012 issue of FHM
It's an old, old war. White skin versus dark skin. In popular media, white is thought of as pure and expensive, while black/dark skin is considered dirty and plebeian. When will it end? When will Filipinas, specifically, finally be free from the all-consuming idea that only white is beautiful?
Well, FHM is not helping for sure. Their cover shows a shining white Bela Padilla in the midst of grasping black-skinned women. She is "stepping out of the shadows", that is, stepping out from the undersirable status of being obscure. I guess? I haven't read the cover story yet so "shadows" can mean any number of things, but one thing is for sure - no one wants them, no one wants to be in them.
I'm not over-sensitive when it comes to white vs dark-skinned girls as I think that everyone has the right to define what they think is beautiful. But I think this FHM cover is vulgar and overtly racist. You can't spell it more clearly than this: that white women are perfect while black women are second-class. It goes beyond the perception of beauty, really, and ventures into racism.
I don't know if this is just a publicity stunt by the publication or if they are just truly ignorant in publishing this cover. Either way, it is wrong. Someone needs to take responsibility and apologize for it.
Internet -1
FHM - 0
FHM apologizes, scraps 'racist' cover
"When FHM hits the stands in March it will have a different cover. We deem this to be the most prudent move in the light of the confusion over the previous cover execution. We apologize and thank those who have raised their points," FHM Philippines said in the statement, which was released on the magazine's website.
