ABSTRACT
In Brazil, the normal body is conceptualised as productive, heterosexual, strong and non-disabled. The study aimed to discover whether the Brazilian news media adopted the medical approach to Paralympic representation in 2012 or whether more progressive representations were emerging as part of a spectacularisation of the Paralympic Games in preparation for Rio 2016. Medical explanations about athletes' disability are very much present in the media coverage of Paralympic Games, showing that it is still difficult to separate disability's medical explanation from Paralympic sports. The way in which marginalisation, stigmatisation and, to a lesser extent, spectacularisation, inform how disabled athletes, and disabled sports in general, are portrayed in the media has been discussed by several researchers. It was found that the representations vary depending on the type of media covering the topic and the cultural context – each country may portray the Paralympians differently depending on their historical and cultural background.
