359 LIDÉ MĚSTA / URBAN PEOPLE 16, 2014, 3 NE/NORMATIVNÍ FEMININITA, MATEŘSTVÍ A SEXUALITA: PŘÍPAD SESTER B. (1878–1922) * Filip Herza Fakulta humanitních studií UK Praha Non/normative Femininity, Maternity and Sexuality: The Case of Sisters B. (1878–1922) Abstract: The aim of this paper is a critical interpretation of the career of sisters Josefa and Růžena Blažek (1878–1922), who became famous as the “conjoined twins” Blažek in the American and European mass entertainment industry at the turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Dr˝tawing from contemporary critical disability studies discourse, the analysis is aimed at the construction of the “different” body of Blažek sisters in various representations, such as newspaper accounts and photography. Throughout the essay, the process of ascribing meanings to the bodies of Blazek sisters is observed, focusing on the ways in which the “different” body could be used as metaphor iguring in the debates about the “collective body” of the Czech nation. Using the intersectional approach, the essay interrogates the interplay between the imaginations of a “different” body and the notions of “white”, non/normative femininity, maternity and sexuality at the time. The paper demonstrates the interconnectedness of certain notions of normative class-speciic femininity and family life with the notion of a harmonious national community, showing the discursive context of this connection in the nationalist bio-political discourses. Finally, the double-igure of the Blažek sisters is presented as a “narrative prosthesis” pleading for national unity in the troubling context of the early 20 th century national politics. Keywords: body; history; representation; gender; nationalism * Vznik studie byl podpořen z grantu SVV „Představy o ,kolektivním těle‘ a utváření moderních identit v českých zemích (cca 1750–1950)“, č. 267704/2013. Projekt je realizován na Katedře obecné antropologie Fakulty humanitních studií Univerzity Karlovy v Praze.