No Mexican, male or female, would take her seriously. This gave Levitt a singular advantage of being able to being able to go where others might not have been able to move anonymously. But Levitt is not a do-gooder per se. Her most famous photograph, often reproduced, is of two boys wrestling on their backs in the courtyard of the convent of La Merced. The arches are reflected in the entangled limbs of the boys.
Form follows function.
She saw her job as rendered the world of Mexico City as it was. It was interesting, but it sure as hell wasn't droll.