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This revolution won't be broadcast, but it could have amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

Additionally, it could include the horn of a unicorn or a chicken's feathers.

As rallies against the leadership carry on in American cities, protesters are adopting the energy of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've offered dance instruction, handed out snacks, and performed on unicycles, while officers look on.

Blending levity and political action – an approach experts call "tactical frivolity" – is not new. But it has become a defining feature of protests in the United States in this period, embraced by various groups.

And one symbol has emerged as especially powerful – the frog. It began when a video of a clash between a protester in an inflatable frog and federal officers in Portland, Oregon, became an internet sensation. And it has since spread to rallies throughout the United States.

"There is much going on with that small blow-up amphibian," states a professor, a professor at University of California, Davis and an academic who specialises in political performance.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to talk about demonstrations and amphibians without mentioning Pepe, a cartoon character embraced by extremist movements during an election cycle.

Initially, when this image initially spread online, people used it to convey specific feelings. Subsequently, its use evolved to endorse a candidate, including one notable meme retweeted by that figure personally, portraying Pepe with a signature suit and hair.

Pepe was also depicted in digital spaces in more extreme scenarios, as a historical dictator. Participants traded "rare Pepes" and established cryptocurrency in his name. His catchphrase, "feels good, man", became an inside joke.

Yet its beginnings were not as a political symbol.

Its creator, artist Matt Furie, has been vocal about his unhappiness for its co-option. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his comic world.

The frog first appeared in a series of comics in the mid-2000s – non-political and best known for a particular bathroom habit. A film, which documents Mr Furie's efforts to wrest back control of his work, he stated his drawing came from his time with friends and roommates.

As he started out, Mr Furie tried sharing his art to the nascent social web, where the community began to copy, alter, and reinterpret the frog. When the meme proliferated into the more extreme corners of online spaces, Mr Furie tried to disavow his creation, including ending its life in a comic strip.

Yet the frog persisted.

"This demonstrates the lack of control over symbols," explains the professor. "They transform and be repurposed."

Until recently, the notoriety of this meme meant that amphibian imagery became a symbol for the right. But that changed recently, when a confrontation between an activist dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon captured global attention.

The moment occurred shortly after a directive to deploy military personnel to the city, which was called "a warzone". Demonstrators began to gather in droves on a single block, near an immigration enforcement facility.

Emotions ran high and a officer used pepper spray at the individual, aiming directly into the opening of the costume.

The individual, Seth Todd, reacted humorously, remarking he had tasted "something milder". Yet the footage went viral.

The frog suit was somewhat typical for Portland, renowned for its eccentric vibe and activist demonstrations that revel in the absurd – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Embrace the Strange."

The costume became part of in subsequent court proceedings between the federal government and the city, which contended the use of troops was illegal.

Although a ruling was issued in October that the administration was within its rights to deploy troops, a minority opinion disagreed, referencing in her ruling demonstrators' "propensity for using unusual attire when expressing dissent."

"It is easy to see this decision, which adopts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," the dissenting judge wrote. "Yet the outcome is not merely absurd."

The order was "permanently" blocked soon after, and personnel withdrew from the city.

Yet already, the frog had become a potent protest icon for progressive movements.

The costume was seen across the country at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. There were frogs – along with other creatures – in major US cities. They were in rural communities and big international cities abroad.

The frog costume was sold out on online retailers, and saw its cost increase.

Shaping the Visual Story

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

This approach rests on what Mr Bogad terms a "disarming display" – often silly, it's a "disarming and charming" act that draws focus to your ideas without needing directly articulating them. It's the silly outfit you wear, or the meme you share.

The professor is an analyst on this topic and a veteran practitioner. He's written a text on the subject, and taught workshops around the world.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, they use absurdity to express dissent a little bit and while maintaining a layer of protection."

The purpose of this approach is multi-faceted, Mr Bogad explains.

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