Yeah, but if I were to recite the stereotypes of Australia, I’d probably go with the one where everything is out to kill us, and omit the one where we’re all criminals.
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It’s hard for me to think of a non-rude way to ask the question in English, much less Japanese. Stereotype has a pretty negative connotation. Is it possible to ask about qualities or traits instead? Or just “what the people like in this area?” And let the person answering decide on how to frame their response.
Or perhaps, if you really need to know about stereotypes specifically, if you included in your question an explanation of why you are asking the question?
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We don’t only wear Lululemon, give us some credit! We also wear Gortex.
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I think the question is fine to ask. I would ask people in the UK what they think about people from London or Liverpool for example. Can be kind of fun. I don’t think it is rude at all. anyway…
This answer comes from a Japanese person so here we go (asked them just for you) …
あなたの出身地の人の固定観念はありますか？
それは事実ですか？
They also said this wasn`t rude to ask. I hope their translation is right, or roughly the same sort of question. Her English is really good so it should be fine.
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I don’t think it’s a disrespectful question at all, given it feels in place in the conversation and not asking it out of the blue. What would make it a bit rude is something like “Is it true that folks from ___ are uptight?”. This version is less curiosity about where the listener is from, and more of a slight at where they’re from.
But in a Japanese context, considering their culture, you may or may not get an annoyingly roundabout answer. Something that stood out to me–I keep in touch with a very interesting elder, known her for quite a long time, and when I asked her which place she thinks is reputed as the seediest in Japan, she refused to answer it. Every question in that email was answered, except for THAT one lol. Made me think, “hmm, do I prefer that outcome or her making up some Tatemae schtick?”
Can’t say I’ve personally ever thought about asking a Japanese person what their prefecture’s stereotypes are, though.
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My posts above are not a discussion of whether it actually is “objectively rude” to ask it or anything, but merely that the question can be interpreted as an invitation for the person being asked the question to be rude in their response. It might be true that a stereotype exists and the responder could still feel that it is rude to say that such a stereotype exists. As such, it didn’t surprise me that the person correcting the question not only corrected for grammar, but also changed it to a completely different question. One they presumably felt more comfortable answering.
Whether the question is rude or not is a different issue.
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I agree with you in saying that the question may not be objectively rude. But after this thread I think it would be prudent to be abit more sensitive when asking these type of questions because not everyone may think like us ( Considering Japanese culture in general ).
Thank you so much for taking the effort to help me ask a native, I really appreciate it.
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That’s not entirely true. I believe some of the sheep are harmless. 
But seriously, the only wildlife you really have to watch out for in Australia are magpies in the autumn.
What about those boxing kangaroos? 
I emptied my shoes every single day when I lived there. The natives scared the crap out of me about spiders in my shoes.
So yeah, in my experience, natives in Australia LOVE to tell foreigners about the “everything will kill you” thing. We had coffee table books about spiders, crocodiles, snakes, jellyfish… all helpful gifts from natives.
“Welcome to the country mate! Here’s a housewarming gift. It’s a nice photo of necrosis after a spider bite!”
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Haha, s’truth mate
But unless you’re living near the bush, it’s pretty rare.
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