Essential? Absolutely not. Almost every guy/gal I fly with (dozens every year) rotate with one hand. The 'two handed' monster is very rare.

100 lbs (45 kg) women rotate 757's with one hand so strength is not an issue.

757 is always nose heavy. Trim feel is almost perfect if you use max power. Nose up thrust line is the difference.

I believe that if you posed this question to a Boeing Flight Controls engineer they would tell you that the force required to rotate all of the current Boeings is the same. Or least thats what they told us a few weeks ago.:}