Are You Convinced? The Bodily Hexis of Nonnative‐English‐Speaking Teachers as <scp>YouTube</scp> Language Influencers: Embodiment, Authority, and Performativity in the Digital Linguistic Marketplace

Abstract This study investigates how nonnative‐English‐speaking teachers (NNESTs) construct professional legitimacy on YouTube, a platform where authority is increasingly mediated by embodiment, esthetics, and performance. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of bodily hexis and linguistic capital, Butler's performativity, and digital influencer studies, the analysis examines 10 videos from five prominent NNEST channels using multimodal discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis. Findings reveal that authority is enacted through gesture, gaze, voice, attire and curated backdrops, with creators strategically shifting between solidarity and authority through pronoun use, humor and cultural mediation. These practices both comply with and resist native‐speakerist ideologies, reframing “nativeness” through creativity, charisma, and authenticity. By converting embodied practices into symbolic and cultural capital, NNESTs demonstrate new forms of linguistic entrepreneurship in the digital marketplace. The study highlights embodiment as central to legitimacy in online ELT while calling for further research into audience reception and platform dynamics.