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The resistance isn't televised, yet it might possess amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

Additionally, it could include the horn of a unicorn or the plumage of a chicken.

While protests against the administration carry on in American cities, participants are utilizing the vibe of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've provided dance instruction, handed out treats, and ridden unicycles, as officers watch.

Mixing levity and political action – an approach social scientists call "tactical frivolity" – is not new. Yet it has transformed into a defining feature of US demonstrations in this period, used by various groups.

A specific icon has proven to be especially powerful – the frog. It originated after video footage of a clash between a man in a frog suit and ICE agents in the city of Portland, became an internet sensation. It subsequently appeared to demonstrations nationwide.

"A great deal at play with that small inflatable frog," says an expert, a professor at University of California, Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in political performance.

The Path From a Cartoon Frog to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to discuss demonstrations and amphibians without addressing Pepe, an illustrated figure embraced by far-right groups throughout a previous presidential campaign.

Initially, when the meme initially spread online, it was used to signal certain emotions. Subsequently, it was deployed to express backing for a political figure, even one notable meme endorsed by that figure personally, depicting Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in right-wing online communities in offensive ways, portrayed as a historical dictator. Online conservatives traded "rare Pepes" and set up digital currency in his name. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was used a shared phrase.

Yet the character did not originate as a political symbol.

Matt Furie, the illustrator, has been vocal about his distaste for its co-option. Pepe was supposed to be simply a "chill frog-dude" in his series.

Pepe debuted in a series of comics in the mid-2000s – non-political and famous for a particular bathroom habit. In a documentary, which follows the creator's attempt to wrest back control of his work, he stated his drawing came from his time with friends and roommates.

As he started out, the artist tried sharing his art to early internet platforms, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. As Pepe spread into darker parts of online spaces, Mr Furie sought to reject his creation, even killing him off in a comic strip.

But Pepe lived on.

"This demonstrates that creators cannot own symbols," explains the professor. "They transform and be reclaimed."

Until recently, the association of this meme resulted in frogs were largely associated with the right. But that changed on a day in October, when a confrontation between an activist wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and an immigration officer in Portland, Oregon went viral.

The moment followed a directive to deploy the National Guard to Portland, which was called "war-ravaged". Protesters began to gather in droves on a single block, near an immigration enforcement facility.

Tensions were high and an immigration officer used a chemical agent at a protester, aiming directly into the ventilation of the inflatable suit.

The protester, the man in the costume, reacted humorously, remarking he had tasted "something milder". Yet the footage became a sensation.

Mr Todd's attire was somewhat typical for Portland, renowned for its quirky culture and left-wing protests that revel in the absurd – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. A local saying is "Embrace the Strange."

The costume was also referenced in a lawsuit between the administration and the city, which argued the deployment was unlawful.

While a judge decided that month that the administration had the right to send personnel, a minority opinion disagreed, mentioning demonstrators' "well-known penchant for using unusual attire while voicing opposition."

"Observers may be tempted the court's opinion, which accepts the government's characterization as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," the dissenting judge stated. "But today's decision is not merely absurd."

The order was halted by courts soon after, and personnel are said to have left the city.

But by then, the frog had transformed into a powerful anti-administration symbol for the left.

The costume was spotted in many cities at No Kings protests last autumn. Frogs appeared – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in major US cities. They were in small towns and global metropolises abroad.

This item was sold out on online retailers, and saw its cost increase.

Shaping the Optics

What connects Pepe and the protest frog – lies in the interplay between the silly, innocent image and serious intent. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The tactic rests on what Mr Bogad calls the "irresistible image" – frequently absurd, it's a "appealing and non-threatening" act that highlights your ideas without needing explicitly stating them. It's the unusual prop you wear, or the symbol you share.

The professor is an analyst in the subject and an experienced participant. He's written a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops internationally.

"You could go back to historical periods – when people are dominated, they use absurdity to express dissent indirectly and while maintaining a layer of protection."

The theory of such tactics is multi-faceted, Mr Bogad explains.

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