Linguagem Inclusiva nas campanhas do Enem : análise dos aspectos verbais e visuais no instagram do Inep

Abstract

Inclusive language is a resource for promoting inclusion and the representation of socially vulnerable groups, considering that verbal and visual choices in discourse can contribute both to reducing and reinforcing stereotypes. In this context, this study aims to investigate how inclusive language is employed in the National High School Examination (Enem) campaigns published on the Instagram profile of the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep) considerings its visual and verbal aspects. This is a research with a qualitative approach and a descriptive and exploratory character, developed through documentary research (Prodanov & Freitas, 2013). The corpus consisted of 21 posts published on Inep’s official Instagram profile between 2022 and 2025. The study is grounded in research on inclusive language, representation, and stereotypes (Campos et al., 2021; Vendramin, 2019; Costa, 2024; Todea, 2023), discussions on the Enem (Inep, 2025; MEC, 2025), and legal documents related to inclusion (Brazil, 2015; Brazil, 2009). The findings reveal progress in the adoption of inclusive language strategies, such as the use of more inclusive terms and increased racial representation in some campaigns. However, limitations were also identified, including the recurrent use of the generic masculine, the predominance of representations of young students, the limited representation of people with disabilities in general campaigns and of other ethnic-racial groups, as well as the predominance of physical disability as the main form of disability representation. These findings indicate that institutional communication still faces challenges in adequately representing the diversity of the Enem participant population