Vogue Under Fire for Characterizing Cara Delevingne's Relationship With a Woman as a “Phase"

A Vogue writer is being called out for purportedly using dismissive language to characterize supermodel Cara Delevingne's relationship with a woman—and people want the magazine to apologize.
Delevingne opened up about her girlfriend, musician St. Vincent, for the fashion tome's July 2015 cover feature, addressing her relationship with women for the first time publicly: "I think that being in love with my girlfriend is a big part of why I'm feeling so happy with who I am these days," she told writer Rob Haskell. The Paper Towns actress also revealed that it was a complex road to understanding and accepting her sexuality: "It took me a long time to accept the idea, until I first fell in love with a girl at 20 and recognized that I had to accept it," she said.
This is all good and well—especially considering the recent push for greater inclusivity in covering LGBT issues in the mainstream media. But some took offense to the way Haskell framed Delevingne's comments.
At one point, Haskell suggests that the model's decision to date women may be a fleeting one: "Her parents seem to think girls are just a phase for Cara, and they may be correct," he writes.

VOGUE/Patrick Demarchelier

In the candid interview, Cara describes her "erotic dreams" (which feature men exclusively), troubled relationship with her mother and her fear of falling in love with a man. This all prompts Haskell, later in the piece, to offer an analysis: "When I suggest to Cara that to trust a man, she might have to revise an old and stubborn idea of hers—that women are perennially troubled and therefore only women will accept her—her smile says she concedes the point."
Care2 user Julie Rodriguez began a petition calling for Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour to apologize for the feature, and the call-to-action currently has nearly 13,000 signatures in support.

MachettePix/startraksphoto.com

Rodriguez contends that Haskell's language and analysis are both trivializing and dangerous in that they work to reinforce stereotypes about queer women.
"The idea that queer women only form relationships with other women as a result of childhood trauma is a harmful (and false) stereotype that lesbian and bisexual women have been combating for decades," Rodriguez explains in her petition description. "How could Vogue's editorial staff greenlight this article and publish it without anyone raising concerns about this dismissive and demeaning language?"
"As a bisexual woman myself, I've experienced hurtful comments like this many times. People are quick to assume queer women's identities are a 'phase' and to refuse to recognize the important relationships in their lives," she continued.
I think Rodriguez has a valid point, but it's yet to be seen if Wintour will agree.