IMAGE: VOGUE.COM
Haskell mentions that Delevingne’s parents see the model’s attraction to women as a phase, and Haskell himself implies that they may be right: “Her parents seem to think girls are just a phase for Cara, and they may be correct…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.”
This did not sit will with Julie Rodriguez, who launched a Care 2 petition against Vogue, saying that it is perpetuating stereotypes about bisexual 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,” she writes. “How could Vogue’s editorial staff greenlight this article and publish it without anyone raising concerns about this dismissive and demeaning language?”
The petition has 11,804 signatures and is very close to its goal of 12,000. Of course, for Ms. Rodriguez, there is personal meaning behind the petition. “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. Vogue should have taken this opportunity to combat negative stereotypes, not reinforce them.”
[via Care 2]
