The funniest thing about stereotypes is that they are also clichéd.

Most stereotypes have been that for such a long time that they are almost invisible to our eyes though they might be right under our noses. Usually it takes some time to notice it.

And no matter how radical one is in thinking and political behaviour, one can still miss the ‘stereotype’. And if you consider yourself a liberal minded person, and you then realise that you have missed that stereotype that was right in front of you, you are going to feel very foolish.

I remember this incident in my university, where a ‘liberal’ friend had called a classmate of ours a slut. This was extremely ironic, because we were then beginning to learn about stereotypes in the courses we had takes. And when I protested, he called me a feminist.

There! Two stereotypes at one table, I had thought.

And my two years at the university have been tough. It required me to unlearn a lot of what we had learnt through social conditioning. And now I can notice a stereotype from miles away. Sniff!