If you want to look at game mechanics in relation to this question, I think aether is a good answer to this.
If you look at the starter stats, they're minuscule compared to the stats of an endgame character. Where do all the extra stats come from? Is someone *really* that much stronger at level 50, in terms of muscle, than they are at level 1? Probably not. Instead, they're better able to tap into the aether that flows all around our characters (with crystals and peace and love and the will of Landru and all that).
For differences between the sexes, there's clearly no in-game stat difference because because it's what we as players expect.
For the races, there are differences in stats, but they're relatively small.
That said, it's probably a bad idea to start looking at things like physical size as an indicator of strength. Take a look at Chimpanzees in the real world, for instance. Pound for pound, they're about four times as strong as a person. A 50 pound Chimp can easily take a fully grown man in a fight, and a large Chimp (males of some types can grow to about the size of a male Miqo'te) maintains that huge margin of strength.
Makes you look at Lalafells just a little bit differently...
If you look at the starter stats, they're minuscule compared to the stats of an endgame character. Where do all the extra stats come from? Is someone *really* that much stronger at level 50, in terms of muscle, than they are at level 1? Probably not. Instead, they're better able to tap into the aether that flows all around our characters (with crystals and peace and love and the will of Landru and all that).
For differences between the sexes, there's clearly no in-game stat difference because because it's what we as players expect.
For the races, there are differences in stats, but they're relatively small.
That said, it's probably a bad idea to start looking at things like physical size as an indicator of strength. Take a look at Chimpanzees in the real world, for instance. Pound for pound, they're about four times as strong as a person. A 50 pound Chimp can easily take a fully grown man in a fight, and a large Chimp (males of some types can grow to about the size of a male Miqo'te) maintains that huge margin of strength.
Makes you look at Lalafells just a little bit differently...
