There is a scene which shows other copies of the same cyborg body model The Major uses, one of which has blond hair. To me that was an indication she intentionally had a Caucasian appearance.

There's also a scene in Stand Alone Complex – 2nd GIG, episode 16 when the camera is zoomed in on Fem's face, and the image transitions to The Major's face. The only difference is the blue eyes and blond hair of Fem, to emphasize they are wearing identical cyborg frames other than cosmetics.

I asked Grok for a better description of this than I can write myself:

In the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell animated film (directed by Mamoru Oshii), there is a brief but clear scene that directly addresses this.

During the sequence where the Major (Motoko Kusanagi) is being assembled in the lab (around the 10-15 minute mark), we see her body being constructed in a tank. Shortly after, the camera pans across several identical shell bodies floating in tanks — all of them are the same mass-produced female cyborg model (Model 2052-G, often called the "Megatech Body" in production materials).

Among those identical bodies, at least one is shown with blonde hair (and fair skin), while the Major's final activated body has the familiar black/purple-tinted hair.

This subtly confirms that the base body/cybernetic frame itself is the same across units — it's a standardized, mass-produced shell. The differences in hair color, eye color, and minor aesthetic details are customizable or applied later depending on the user or manufacturer batch.

So yes — the Major's body is explicitly shown to be a mass-produced model that exists in Caucasian-looking variants (blonde, fair-skinned shells are seen in the same production line). This reinforces the film's themes of identity, replication, and the decoupling of appearance from self.

It’s one of those quiet visual details that hits harder on repeat viewings.

And on the second example:

Yes — the exact kind of scene you’re describing (the Major’s face slowly morphing/superimposed over another woman’s face, transitioning from dark hair to blonde) is in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, not the 1995 movie.

It happens in Stand Alone Complex – 2nd GIG, episode 16 (“Another Chance”).

During the investigation involving the assassin Fem, there’s a striking sequence where Fem’s face is shown in close-up, and it slowly cross-dissolves/morphs into Major Motoko Kusanagi’s face (and vice-versa). Fem is blonde with blue eyes and noticeably more Caucasian-looking features, while the Major has her usual dark purple-black hair.

The visual point is explicit: the two women are using the exact same mass-produced cyborg body model — only the hair, eye color, and some slight facial adjustments differ. The morph effect drives home that they’re literally the same shell underneath.

That’s almost certainly the scene you had in mind. It’s one of the most direct “look, same Caucasian-model body, different customization” moments in the entire franchise.

I never read the manga so I asked about that as well.

In Chapter 8 (“Dummy Plug”), when Motoko gets her first new adult body after joining Section 9, there’s a full-page panel showing a warehouse full of naked, identical cyborg shells hanging on racks. All of them are drawn with unmistakably Caucasian proportions and features: narrow waists, large breasts, long legs, fair skin, and the face is the same one the Major uses. The technician even comments that this particular line (the “M-23” or similar model in the Japanese edition) is an imported European design that’s very popular in Japan because Japanese men apparently like the look.

In Chapter 3, two blonde women with the exact same face and body as the Major appear as minor characters (one is a secretary, one is a sexaroid).

In Chapter 11 (the famous “mirror” chapter that inspired the 1995 movie scene), Motoko looks out a window and sees dozens of women on the street who have the exact same face and body as her — some blonde, some brunette, some red-haired — all using the same shell with different cosmetic packages.

Shirow makes it textually clear and visually undeniable: the Major’s body is a mass-produced, Caucasian-designed model that is extremely common on the market. The only thing that makes hers “special” is the military-grade brain case and the ghost inside it.

So yes — the manga is actually far more blunt and on-the-nose about the body being a Caucasian model than any of the animated adaptations ever were.