>On Mon, 8 Sep 1997, Sean Johnston wrote:
>
>>
>> Okay, so why are most women in this, the world's most diverse, culture
>> usually shorter than men, as well as weaker in the upper body?
>>
>> -Sean
>>
>
>NH: Let me balance this by pointing out that many men are proportionally
>weaker in the legs than women, ie. given a woman and a man of similar
>size and strength, the man will tend to be stronger in the upper body
>than the woman, and the woman will tend to be stronger in the lower body
>than the man. So we're not talking strength vs. weakness here, but
>relative distribution along a spectrum, as well as
>gender-based differences in distribution of muscular strength on our
>frames. I guess the same would go for height. To bring this back on
>topic, one of the more appealing speculative aspects of feminist sf for
>me is the times when the literature allows me to imagine what it would be
>like to be in a female body that is comfortable exercising physical
>mastery. For which you don't necessarily need superior strength, just
>good training. That was one of the things I loved about the martial art
>in Elizabeth Lyn's books. Men and women sparred together.
>
>-nalo
>
>"There are two kinds of dates; the kind that you go out with, and the
>small fruit that you eat."
> -my aunt
Nalo,
Thanks. See my post to Lesley, where I elaborate a little,
confirming what you say.
-Sean
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