Welcome to the year of whimsy. The trend is largely aesthetic: a rejection of the clean face and millennial beige era in pursuit of bold silhouettes, dramatic interiors, over-accessorizing, and elaborate meals. It's also fitting for our current economic landscape. As the middle class erodes and the poor get poorer, a trend that encourages buying little things—bright lipstick, whimsical home decor, a patterned scarf—that disrupt your status quo might feel more accessible than buying a whole beige couch. Meanwhile, the upper class is eschewing quiet luxury for ostentation, a trend that trickles down to other socioeconomic classes (and worth reclaiming as an act of protest, in my opinion).

Despite its cheery disposition, we've likely arrived at this cultural inflection of whimsy because things have felt pretty futile. The current administration's swift attacks on the sociopolitical progress we've made have left many liberals disillusioned. Many of these same actions have alienated the right, underwhelming those who saw Trump's appointment as the dawn of a new era. Each headline about our politics, or statements made by Trump, feels like satire. And, intentionally, traditional ways of taking action—protesting, voting, making more conscious choices for consumption—feel more futile than they have before. Perhaps donning a penis costume is the most logical next move for a world that feels illogical. Tactical frivolity, the practice of using humor and whimsy as a form of direct action, will likely grow.

I think this form of protest will mature, and resonate more deeply, in the years ahead – especially after a racial reckoning rooted in political correctness: pronouns and land acknowledgments, statements on websites, and acronyms. A season of resistance through weirdness is refreshing. This shift feels akin to the rise of Dadaism, an art movement born out of post-World War I Europe that captured how disillusioned people felt about the destruction. Artists, feeling like the world had lost its sense of logic and rationality, rejected popularized artistic pattern and form, creating anti-art that aimed to mean nothing, as much as the false promises and broken treaties of the time it reflected. I really loved this article, which draws parallels between Dadaism and the rise of "67," one of the many recent cultural sayings that means both something and nothing.

But there's an even more urgent reason to embrace some whimsy in your life. Being foolish, being silly, often requires us to act in opposition to the social norms and rules that surround us. If you wear a large, comical hat to school pickup tomorrow afternoon, you're likely challenging the unspoken rules of dress during this time (unless, of course, this is standard attire for your school community). If you dedicate your social media profiles to highlighting the best clouds you've seen, you may shift the standards of digital communication within your friend group. These acts are disruptive because they disrupt us, and teach us how to feel more comfortable when we're moving against the tide. Getting familiar with this discomfort can help us feel more confident standing up against injustice and other forms of resistance.

Moreover, we are on the front lines of a fight for our imagination. AI is being marketed to us as its replacement: a tool we need to communicate with other humans, to create music, art, and movies, and to help take an idea into reality. This positioning is dangerous, as it implies that our own creativity is insufficient for the world ahead. It may convince us all to stop thinking for ourselves and instead allow an algorithm made in the vision of dominant culture to do that work for us. Through that there can be no subversion. Even if something artificially created seems countercultural, the mere fact that it's been designed by a commercialized, mainstream product negates its impact. Going out of our way to define means of expression that are countercultural and unexpected can be a reclamation of our imagination.

If you want to dive into this moment of whimsy, treat it as a discipline, not just an escape. Building a relationship here can bring more joy and humor into our lives and our communities while making a statement against the status quo. Despite how it may seem, it doesn't necessarily require you to buy something. Shifting your behavior will have a more lasting impact. But as you do, know that you're teaching yourself and others more ways to be in protest and challenge the injustices we face.

The ICE Protest Frogs Have a Long History of ‘Tactical Frivolity’ Behind Them. “That willingness to make yourself ridiculous can be very disarming,” said a professor who has studied — and engaged in — absurd protest methods. Marshall Project >

Womanist Whimsy: A Praxis for Rest and Black Feminist Imagination. In her article, Kitty Scarlett explores the role of whimsy in imagining new futures; “We can allow our imagination to lead us to new levels of understanding and creation towards the way we show up in the world.” Black Feminist Collective >

Cheeky Austin Protesters 'Moon' KKK at 1993 Texas Capitol Rally. A group of folks in Austin, TX was tired of annual KKK rallies at the Capitol. They staged the Great Mass Mooning of the Klan in January 1993, where participants dropped their paints in counter-protest to “show the Klansmen they were the real butt of the joke.” Mother Jones >

The Tactical Frivolity of the No Kings Protest. This humorous form of protest, known as tactical frivolity, shows the absurdity of the charge that all the protesters are armed militants. The New York Times >

The Unseriousness of Young Revolutionaries. Young protesters across the world use humor, memes and pop culture to confront failing governments and rigid institutions. Fair Observer >