Abstract
This is a self-directed study exploring the challenges experienced by the authors, both of whom are hearing
relatives to deaf family members: a child of deaf adults and a sibling of deaf children. We are bicultural members
of both hearing and deaf cultures, but we can be considered invisible minorities, as our participation in deaf culture
remains hidden. This research aimed to externalize our challenges by objectifying our own experiences as invisible
minorities. We used collaborative autoethnography to investigate the social and cultural structures underlying the
challenges we face. Our autoethnographies show that we face a dilemma: do we embrace deaf culture as being part
of us or acculturate to the hearing culture and society? Moreover, the findings suggest that we are in a situation of
cognitive incongruity where conflicting messages from hearing and deaf cultures occur. Moreover, we experience
internalized stigma as individuals who have family members with disabilities, which can be understood as structural
stigma experienced not only directly from the other hearing people but also indirectly from deaf family members.
