It's interesting that you noted the young reporter had a slender build which enabled him to appear more passable. Interestingly enough the assest that a women could use to help her along would be a larger skull (larger hands and feet wouldn't hurt either).
You also mentioned that women tend to be more passable when kinging and perhaps that's due to dressing down to blend in with the crowd as opposed to dressing up to stand out in a crowd.
Thanks again for the link
Lefty