Today, America’s LGBT community has a lot to celebrate. Ahead of New York’s upcoming Pride festivities this weekend, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of upholding the legality of same-sex marriage nationwide. But in the middle of this momentous victory, some members of the community are upset by Vogue‘s depiction of Cara Delevingne’s sexual identity in its July issue cover profile.
The actress, model and singer spoke to Vogue extremely candidly about her troubled teenage years, which included battles with drugs, depression and suicidal thoughts: “All of a sudden I was hit with a massive wave of depression and anxiety and self-hatred, where the feelings were so painful that I would slam my head against a tree to try to knock myself out. I never cut, but I’d scratch myself to the point of bleeding. I just wanted to dematerialize and have someone sweep me away,” she told writer Rob Haskell.
But even before confirming her relationship with St. Vincent’s Annie Clark, Cara has been open about her own bisexuality and supported culture of acceptance without labels or judgements. While the Vogue story highlighted her words “Being in love with my girlfriend is a big part of why I’m feeling so happy with who I am these days,” as a bolded pull quote early in the story, Haskell later writes: “Her parents seem to think girls are just a phase for Cara, and they may be correct.”
As Fashionista reported this morning, this problematic depiction isn’t sitting well with the LGBT community. Julie Rodriguez launched a petition asking Vogue to apologize for suggesting Delevingne’s same sex relationships are merely “a phase.”
“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 stated. “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 — an attitude which can cause depression, result in families rejecting their daughters (or forcing them into abusive conversion “therapy”), and even put young women at risk of suicide.”
At the time this article was published, Rodriguez’s petition was just two signatures away from its 15,000 signature goal. “Vogue should have taken this opportunity to combat negative stereotypes, not reinforce them,” Rodriguez concluded. “We should be applauding Cara for coming out as queer, and being open about her relationships with men and women.”
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Photography Nick Dorey
Styling Hanna Kelifa