Cara Delevingne and girlfriend musician St. Vincent in March. Photo: Josiah Kamau

Vogue magazine is facing backlash from the LGBTI community after a cover story on Cara Delevingne suggested the model's attraction to women might be "a phase".

Delevingne is currently dating singer St. Vincent, whose real name is Annie Clarke, and gushed about their relationship in the profile.

"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. And for those words to come out of my mouth is actually a miracle," she said.

Cara Delevigne and St Vincent (Annie Clark) at Cannes Film Festival this year. Photo: Andreas Rentz

Yet feature writer Rob Haskell had his own ideas about the 22-year-old's sexuality:


"Cara says she felt confused by her sexuality as a child, and the possibility of being gay frightened her. '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 explains... Her parents seem to think girls are just a phase for Cara, and they may be correct. 'Women are what completely inspire me, and they have also been my downfall. I have only been hurt by women, my mother first of all.'"

He didn't stop there, even offering his own advice to Delevingne about overcoming her apprehension about commiting to a man.

"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," he wrote.

A petition demanding the magazine apologise for the "insensitive and offensive" article has alread been signed by more than 13,000 people. It reads:

"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."

"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. We should be applauding Cara for coming out as queer, and being open about her relationships with men and women."