I grew up in a town with at most 2000 people where church was everything. Most of the people in my grade knew I liked yaoi (they just called it gay anime) and nobody seemed to care.
How they found out: When I was in 6th grade I brought a doujinshi I just got to school and showed my guy friends (I was stupid and excited so I did) and they screamed, stole it, and showed everybody. Over time I think most people just thought "she likes weird stuff, but she's still nice" and so everyone was okay with it.
So you might be okay if people find out! That was my experience at least! ╮( ̄▽ ̄)╭
Sometimes I think about what my friends would think. I worry That if they find out I read yaoi they'll know I'm gay.
Also I;m not saying that guys who read yaoi are gay so..yeah. I also get real scared cuz there always making fun of gay people and saying its gross. So That has also been making me feel sad. So yeah I'm scared of them finding out. (I Also Feel the same with my family members)
This was just my personal experience but almost everyone around me knows I love BL. I think it just heavily relies on environment. Mine was relatively open to homosexuality so there wasn't any explicit homophobia or prejudice from others. In my case, my sister is also a huge fan, and so is my best friend. My friends at school knows I read it, they tease me but never mocks me for it. Heck, I read yaoi at school sometimes. I guess I'm just not afraid of people finding out because I can guess their reactions to an extent. But I would understand if others are scared though since not everyone is open-minded to others' tastes in entertainment.
are you scared of what people will think if they know you read yaoi? tbh i dont wanna think about what people would say in my bible banging city