Doctor Who: Virginal Rose? Huh?

[butterfly]

I sometimes see the comment that Rose is a desexualised or 'virginal' character, particularly in S2. First off, in what way can Rose be considered virginal? Was it not completely obvious to everyone that she and Mickey were having a sexual relationship? To quote from Rose: "Any excuse to get into the bedroom." Plus, there was the motel room that they nearly got together in Boomtown and I highly doubt they were planning to chastely lie there, side by side, and chat the night away.

In fact, that's one of the things that I like so much about Rose -- she's very aware of sex and attraction and flirting. She talks with Gwyneth about skipping school and watching boys, mentioning that she, personally, has a preference for nice bums. She's very capable of holding her own in flirting with Adam and Jack. And, of course, there's her with the Doctor, a relationship that gets a huge jolt of sexuality in S2, what with him commenting on her looking 'all pink and yellow' while checking out her breasts and Cassandra telling us that Rose has noticed that the Doctor's all 'slim and a little bit foxy' now. They flirt heavily and show absolutely no concept of personal space during the entire season. Seriously, is it just because she doesn't gather up any Adam or Jack-types this season?

It really is baffling me how Rose Tyler is now retcon'd by some to have no sexuality. One of the things that I love about her is that she is very confident of her attractiveness as a woman (suggesting that she distract the guard in The Doctor Dances), and her willingness to be flirty is very much part of that. I also like that she very clearly considers flirting to be something that one uses to develop a relationship and doesn't try to make it the sum of everything.

I mean, if Rose were a virgin (and/or virginal and/or disinclined to flirting), that'd be fine, too, but she isn't. She very clearly isn't.

Mind you, I'm also puzzled at the idea that pining over someone when they give nothing back is considered more emotionally mature and/or more sexually charged than having a flirty, reciprocal relationship with someone.