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Sure, real women are complete, independent people, but it's nice to see it in "print." It's rare- in a world where so many of the stories (even the Nancy Drew that I read as a kid) require someone to help her get rescued. That's actually the thing that made me stop reading the Nancy Drew- she never was shown as competent and I got annoyed. She should be capable of getting herself out of trouble, at least once in a while!

Male characters are certainly shown to be active, so why shouldn't female ones? But they rarely do show us that way. And it's probably not something the average guy is going to notice. Kind of like a blonde may not notice all the characters are blond, but a brunette will (from feeling left out). It's something you notice by contrast or absence, rather than directly.