Do you need to?
A lot of people - for whatever purposes and conditions - feel pressured to tell people they’re a furry. One should keep in mind that the furry fandom is a hobby and an interest, at the most a small part of your person; however (unless you’re the chatterbox type) then do you need to tell your friends and family every little hobby you have? Do you tell them explicitly about your love life or secrets? These all define and make up your person, but they don’t necessitate telling others about them, indeed there are those who would rather not know at all.
Are they right for it?
It’s never a good idea to judge a book by it’s cover, however in some cases you may need to. This is true when “sizing up your opponent”; are your parents (we’ll use them as a running example in this article) for example pretty laid back, are they liberal or diverse in themselves?
I found this to be true with my own parents: both very liberal people; my mother Annie, a Malaysian who revels in the unusual spectrums of food, dress and culture; and step-dad Tim, head of the union and a hybrid Irish-Canadian who enjoys Spanish culture. Both with interests differing wildly from the considered “norm”, it was only a matter of time until I became the fuzzy thing I am today!
If your parents are not the fancy-free liberal types that mine are then you’re possibly taking some risk in telling them. As for informing friends, I can offer no better advice than to blurt it out and hope for the best. If you don’t feel that your target really fulfils these qualities, but you still feel the desperate need to tell them then don’t come to me if things go badly wrong. The following pages can offer you nothing more than advice, you must use this to your ultimate advantage.