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The protest movement isn't televised, but it could have webbed feet and large eyes.

It also might feature a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

While rallies against the administration continue in American cities, protesters are adopting the spirit of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've offered dance instruction, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, as officers watch.

Mixing comedy and politics – a tactic experts refer to as "tactical frivolity" – is not new. However, it has emerged as a defining feature of protests in the United States in this period, used by both left and right.

And one symbol has risen to become especially powerful – the frog. It originated when video footage of a confrontation between a man in a frog suit and immigration enforcement agents in Portland, Oregon, became an internet sensation. From there, it proliferated to protests across the country.

"There is much going on with that small inflatable frog," states a professor, a professor at UC Davis and an academic who specialises in performance art.

The Path From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It is difficult to talk about demonstrations and amphibians without talking about Pepe, a web comic frog adopted by online communities throughout a previous presidential campaign.

When the meme initially spread on the internet, people used it to convey specific feelings. Subsequently, it was utilized to show support for a political figure, including one notable meme endorsed by that figure himself, depicting the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Pepe was also depicted in digital spaces in offensive ways, portrayed as a historical dictator. Participants exchanged "unique frog images" and set up digital currency using its likeness. His catchphrase, "that feels good", was deployed a coded signal.

However the character did not originate so controversial.

Matt Furie, the illustrator, has expressed about his unhappiness for its appropriation. Pepe was supposed to be simply a relaxed amphibian in this artist's universe.

This character debuted in comic strips in the mid-2000s – apolitical and notable for a particular bathroom habit. A film, which follows the creator's attempt to wrest back control of his creation, he said his drawing came from his experiences with companions.

When he began, Mr Furie tried uploading his work to new websites, where people online began to copy, alter, and reinterpret the frog. As Pepe spread into fringe areas of the internet, the creator tried to disavow his creation, including ending its life in a comic strip.

But Pepe lived on.

"It proves that we don't control icons," says the professor. "They transform and be repurposed."

Until recently, the popularity of Pepe meant that frogs became a symbol for the right. This shifted on a day in October, when an incident between an activist wearing an inflatable frog costume and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon spread rapidly online.

The moment occurred shortly after a decision to deploy the National Guard to Portland, which was called "a warzone". Protesters began to gather in droves outside a facility, near an immigration enforcement facility.

Emotions ran high and an agent sprayed pepper spray at the individual, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the puffy frog costume.

The protester, Seth Todd, responded with a joke, saying it tasted like "something milder". Yet the footage became a sensation.

The frog suit was somewhat typical for the city, famous for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that delight in the unusual – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and unique parades. Its creed is "Embrace the Strange."

The frog became part of in the ensuing legal battle between the federal government and Portland, which contended the use of troops overstepped authority.

While the court ruled in October that the president was within its rights to send personnel, a dissenting judge wrote, referencing in her ruling demonstrators' "known tendency for using unusual attire when expressing opposition."

"It is easy to see this decision, which adopts the government's characterization as a war zone, as merely absurd," the dissenting judge wrote. "But today's decision has serious implications."

The deployment was stopped legally soon after, and troops withdrew from the area.

Yet already, the frog had become a significant anti-administration symbol for progressive movements.

The inflatable suit was seen across the country at No Kings protests recently. Amphibian costumes were present – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in rural communities and big international cities abroad.

This item was in high demand on online retailers, and saw its cost increase.

Mastering the Narrative

What connects both frogs together – is the interplay between the silly, innocent image and serious intent. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The strategy relies on what Mr Bogad terms a "disarming display" – often silly, it's a "disarming and charming" performance that highlights a cause without obviously explaining them. It's the unusual prop used, or the symbol circulated.

The professor is both an expert on this topic and someone who uses these tactics. He's written a text called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops around the world.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, absurd humor is used to express dissent a little bit and while maintaining plausible deniability."

The theory of such tactics is three-fold, Mr Bogad says.

When activists take on a powerful opposition, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences