Is it true that the average woman who doesn't work out can only bench press 25 lbs? I don't think that makes sense, but I haven't been able to find any data to refute it. I'm not thinking of taller people, mind you, but people between 5' 3" and 5' 7". I personally can bench press about 50 lbs, with some difficulty, and I'm about 5' 5½".

I've never heard of that, and that is certainly a low amout of weight. That would mean the woman wouldn't be able to lift the bar alone, which weighs about 44lbs. (An olympic bar anyway) Personally I'm 5'3" and I can bench 90lbs (w/a straight bar), however I prefer to use dumbells for chest exercises and I usually use 40lb'ers, sometimes less if my shoulder injury bothers me.