Bela Padilla - Racist or Racy FHM Cover?

Unfortunately, this is one of those issues that we can't look at as either black or white.

Here is the controversial BELA PADILLA FHM COVER:

Pop Culture has never been a stranger to depictions of a fair skinned woman set against the backdrop of darker skinned people. Too close for comfort is DEV's Dancing in the Dark video where the same concept was used.


And here is Dev's Dancing in the Dark video:

Ok, so let's take a moment here and appreciate both ladies. At first glance, I can grasp the concern about using the striking contrast of skin colors together with the copy "stepping out of the shadow". I can see how using people of other ethnic background can be seen as racist, considering how little interaction there was shown between the subject (Bela Padilla) and the humans she used as props (atmospheric models). This is very suggestive of the subject treating the rest of the elements around her as objects.

But then again, didn't Gwen Stefani used the same technique of using other ethnic backgrounds as gimmik?

Two wrongs may make a trend, but that doesn't make it right. Thus, we have to ask ourselves, were Dev and Gwen being racist in the same vein that Bela Padilla's cover was?

Let's look at the issue here and lay down some definitions. Racist is when one disparages an individual based on his or her ethnic background. Does racism still exist in this day and age? Unfortunately, yes. Especially with old people. My grandparents, bless them, are horrible racists. I have tried time and again to correct their impression about all individual members of the human race, but sadly, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

So, it's when we can no longer rectify the sins of our past do we move forward and avoid those trespasses. I have been fortunate enough to know people from all walks of life, and my experience living abroad and being briefly on tour in the UK made me appreciate people of different stories. Sadly, not everyone has experienced as much as I have.

Racism is when my friend Kalinga was not allowed to enter a club because he was Sri Lankan. It's not racist when I pose with Korean chicks I met in a ballgame.

Because we have to look at the intent here:



Was there malice in the creation of Bela Padilla's cover?


And shouldn't we ask:

Is there malice in calling the cover racist?

Racism is a serious issue. It's not a card we should play out just because we can. Some pots are black, and calling them so doesn't make it less of a pot. It's when people use 'colors' negatively do we miss the point; that light is made up of all colors, each wonderful, each beautiful, each true.