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2016 ‫מועד דצמבר‬ - 41 - ‫ פרק ראשון‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Text II (Questions 18-22)

(1) The first half of the 19th century was not a comfortable time to be a woman. The
conventional attire for women – multiple layers of fabric, stiff petticoats, and a corset
pulled unbearably tight at the waist – weighed them down and restricted their
movement. In the eyes of many women, dress reform had to be one of the first steps

(5) toward women's liberation. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leading figure in the women's
rights movement, argued that "woman will never hold her true position, until . . . she
casts away her swaddling clothes."

During the spring of 1851, Elizabeth Smith Miller began experimenting with a new
style of women's clothing. Her innovation featured Turkish trousers reaching the

(10) ankle and a skirt that fell some four inches below the knee. Dressed in the new outfit,
Miller visited Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls, New York, and introduced the
new garment to her. The two women showed it to another friend, fellow activist Amelia
Jenks Bloomer. Bloomer, who was the editor and publisher of The Lily, A Ladies'
Journal, was intrigued by the liberating apparel. She wrote an article advocating

(15) Miller's "freedom dress" or "rational dress". Before long, people began referring to this
style as the "bloomer costume" or "bloomers".

The dress reform movement was highly controversial; many expressed disapproval
and even outrage. Opposition to the "ridiculous and indecent" bloomers was so fierce
that many feminists ceased wearing them after a few years. They believed that

(20) the ridicule the outfit evoked was counterproductive to gaining rights for women. It
would take several more decades for widespread dress reform to really take hold.

Questions

18. The main purpose of the text is to -

(1) describe Elizabeth Smith Miller's Turkish trousers
(2) present a review of 19th-century fashions
(3) discuss efforts to make 19th-century women's clothing more practical
(4) examine 19th-century attitudes toward women

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬

.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬