It bothers me because women don't get the same consideration for heroic presentation as men. Because men get bodies and women get clothes. It's a monument, not a closet! It's hard to imagine a sculpture for "the men of World War II" not having even a single anonymous male figure to represent the larger group. The absence of physical representation - despite the fact that this is a monument to real human beings - is startling and telling. I'm glad we have a statue. But we also need to think about how it is presented, and what that says about our attitudes towards gender and heroism.
I was reminded of all this the other day as I was strolling up Whitehall and saw the monument again. This time I took a moment to look around as well. Lo and behold, all in the immediate vicinity: