It exists within a sexist system before a sexist audience, many of which will not interrogate the sexual and gendered questions that the film succeeds in asking for many viewers.
And what frequently gets lost is the fact that the Major is the chosen example of this approach.
This is why the whole Mamoru Oshii saga is far different from the work of Masamune Shirow who drew a lesbian scene because…he wanted to.
We also ommited the amount of flesh and blood scattering all around and over in the films, which points to deconstruction too.
It just sounded a bit biased for me.
Why must the Major be a woman? Asking why any character, ever, male or female should be sexualized is like asking why do we breathe air? Her personality is usually androgynous.