Are you SURE about that? I know a LOT of folks who have stayed with that form factor. Some are women with small hands, but not all of them -- and virtually none of them are HN-nerdy-types.
I would even pay XS prices for the same form factor, if only Apple bothered to make one...
To continue with the anecdote-is-not-data theme though, my wife is hanging on to her 5C for dear life because ... it's BLUE. So at least they got some part of the female demographic with the XR.
I don't understand how women deal with it, with jeans that are tighter fitting and have smaller pockets. I think most women wearing form fitting jeans put it in their back pocket while walking and then have to put it on a table or something while sitting. Or they put it in their purse, where the size isn't a problem.