Avatars - Commander Shepard

I feel like being comfortable in an avatar's skin is different from identifying with one. I mean, I can empathize with characters and am fond of many, but usually never have any strong feelings towards them (Cole Phelps might be an exception). For me, as long as the character isn't completely morally abhorrent, I'm okay playing as them. Maybe it's because I mainly play games that have player characters that are pre-established, so the only customization of a character is restricted to outfits and weapons. However...

My Shepard. I figured this is the only time I'll ever be able to create fanart for a class, so might as well take advantage of it, right???

...I recently started playing Mass Effect, and damn, if I don't love my Shepard. I'm not sure exactly what it is. I like that she has a voice (and one that is actually audible) and a personality instead of being just a blank slate and a body to inhabit. Another reason is because I can play as a female, and I have control over how she looks. Especially this. However, in the rare chance that I customize characters in video games, I never really wish to put my resemblance in the game, nor do I think I create characters with attributes I wish I possessed. I've been interested in creating characters outside of games, and this is something which I've expressed through my art and writing. But for me, many times these characters are people that I feel are underrepresented or misrepresented in mainstream media. And this is transferred to my character customization in games. I mean, as a double minority, not only is it hard when I'm inundated with ideas of men as normative, but then when there is a female, she's oftentimes an Aryan-featured, more-object-than-human who is meant to be ogled. So I guess this is why my Commander Shepard is an avatar I feel strongly about; she's a character whose appearance has not been tailored towards what will be the most marketable and will not stir up controversy -  both in terms of gender and race. She's a lead I want to see but know that it is unlikely to happen.