Author’s Abstract

At the G20 protests in Pittsburgh in 2009 a popular chant included
the phrase, “We’re here! We’re queer! We’re anarchists, we’ll fuck
you up.” However, it is virtually impossible that every member of the
black bloc using this chant self-identified as queer in their day-to-day
life. In this article, I argue that the presentation of self among black
bloc participants, especially the masking of the face with a black
bandana and the wearing of black itself, allows for the destruction
of a previously held identification and the temporary recreation of
a new identification. I emphasize theories developed by Deleuze &
Guattari and Giorgio Agamben. I also analyze a zine produced by
the organizers of the resistance to G20 in Pittsburgh to show that my
interpretation of the black bloc subjectivity is reflected in the claims
of black bloc participants.