Great analysis - you put into words what I've been feeling for decades as I watched wraith-like, ephemeral, unknowable women who were defined by their sex appeal waltz across the screen.

As a woman who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I wasn't even aware of the deep and insatiable craving I had for REAL, fully human female characters until they finally started appearing on screen and in books in recent years. There's something so nourishing about seeing your own experiences represented in art, and not the one-dimensional versions created from the perspective of people who want to have sex with you (and by YOU, I don't mean any individual, I mean the amorphous blob that many male artists seem to think represents all women's experiences).

I can only imagine the thirst that people of color must also feel to see their experiences on screen. Thank god more diverse voices are finally getting the green light.