A cover starring Bela Padilla "stepping out of the shadows" would be uncontroversial, if the shadows weren't black models. People of African descent have been unjustly stigmatized as embodying darkness, ever since the era of slave trading. The cover is a modern rendition of a regressive form of discrimination, and should thus be brought to utmost scrutiny, in a day and age wherein racial equality should be universal.

(Image copyright of FHM Philippines)