At first glance it looks like a regular FHM cover featuring Bela Padilla. But taking a closer look reveals that she is in the midst of dark-skinned women and it also gets intriguing with the caption of "Stepping out of the shadows". The latest cover does feature and expose Bela as the center figure for the magazine cover however, many have reacted to the photo and find it very racist in content.
For me, the concept indeed has some suggestive thought of referring "shadows" to dark-tonned women. Though it was never discouraged them, it still has this negative impact on dark-toned people. Yes, in our Pinoy society, we prefer white skin over dark and this led to the mentality of dark is lesser than white. However, the point here is the photo and the statement itself which raise eyebrows. I do smell controversy in the making.