GABRIELA slams sexist,
racist FHM
Press Release
February
29, 2012
MANILA – The
militant women's group Gabriela scored the magazine FHM Philippines
not only for the March issue cover design's racist undertones but more
so for the magazine's routinely sexist and anti-women portrayal of
Filipinas.
Gabriela secretary
general Lana Linaban said that the March issue displaying Bella
Padilla’s body among dark-skinned models was indeed feeding into
colonial concepts of fair-skinned women as superior while dark-skinned
figures are mere “shadows”. This, on top of its usual portrayal of
women as cheap commodities that cater to macho fantasies, shows FHM at
its worst in discriminating against women.
"We women's rights
advocates condemn the publisher Summit Media and its editors for
continually distorting women’s bodies and packaging them as so-called
modern women. But the truth is, they (ab)use women as commodities and
conduits of mindless purchase of products and services that further
enslave men and women in pursuit of hedonic consumption, blinding
society from seeing the harsh economic crisis," Linaban said.
GABRIELA promised
to be relentless in its effort to address issues concerning
discrimination and abuse of women. Commodification and other form of
violence against women arising from heightened poverty will be part of
issues that will be highlighted on women’s action on March 8 –
International Women’s Day.
