There's All Amazons Want Hercules for the idea that strong women want men stronger than themselves, but an even older stereotype goes even further. The crucial part isn't being stronger than the woman in question, it's being strong, period. In turn, even a weak woman isn't going to be impressed by a guy merely stronger than her; he has to be fairly strong as far as guys go, too.
It all goes back [...] [tvtropes.org]