Feeling offended by stereotypes that indirectly concern my identity, I decided to fight against my own stereotypes. The first step to fight against stereotypes is to be aware of the fact that you’re going to think or react according to a particular stereotype. This may help to avoid a stereotypical behavior that you would have in that particular situation. First bar, first trial.
While having one of these endless stereotypical woman conversations with a friend of mine, an American Gangster came towards our table. Before this V.I.P. moment of my life, in which I decided to fight against stereotypes, I would probably have ignored him or spoken to him in such an arrogant way that he would have left us while thinking that we are this kind of typical introverted Swiss girls. But I decided to actively fight against this. I tried to convince myself to be open, open, open. He was very tall, had an amazing mass of muscles, was originally from Chicago (yeah!) and, wore golden rings and necklaces, and, even more impressive, was working for the American military in Berne who, apparently, works closely with the Swiss military. So he was based in Berne, and because he found Berne such a boring city, he came to Zurich to have a couple of drinks in a Hip Hop bar. And we engaged into a very interesting conversation. He may have looked like one of this Hip Hop Gangsters that you see on YouTube, but he didn’t behave oppressive at all. Mission accomplished. Ready for the next challenge.