years ago on an obscure history forum, on page 69 of furious debate about women warriors in the past, this one dude shared a personal anecdote about living in China as a foreigner and how much literally stronger he thought they were compared to westerners, how they had more independence and dignity and it corresponded to actual physical strength. i think about that a lot, and i think it also should be said about Soviet women (remember the cold-war stereotype of husky muscular soviet women?)