The March issue of FHM Singapore, a monthly magazine targeted towards men, has been pulled off the shelves for containing two articles deemed offensive to Christianity.
One of which, titled “Which of These Celebs Might Secretly Be Jesus?”, “evaluates“ the possibility that celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Justin Bieber are in fact Jesus. Another article prompting the issue’s removal from newsstands was headlined “Jesus 2.0: What Can We Expect?”
Christians, who composed 18.3 percent of the population of Singapore in the 2010 census, were outraged by these two articles, calling the magazine “insensitive.” Along with public dissent, the Media Development Authority of Singapore announced on March 2nd that it will investigate the magazine for what may be a “breach of content guidelines.”
Senior editor of FHM, David Fuhrmann-Lim, apologized for any offense caused by the articles, which he claims where intended to be interpreted as “tongue-in-cheek humor.” One might find it somewhat odd that a magazine removed from the shelves based on its content simultaneously pictures a scantily clad woman on its cover. Are the “Christians” purchasing this magazine therefore only offended by what appears in written print? A mixed message is sent when a magazine is held to conservative standards in its written content, yet displays half-naked women on its cover month after month.
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