Based primarily on stories told by a male elementary school teacher and stories told about him by parents, staff, and children, this paper explores how the identity of this male teacher is shaped. The paper begins by telling a specific story of a student who had wet her pants and how the teacher addressed the matter. Recounted conversations with the teacher show how helping the student revealed a line separating him from the women on staff. The paper then summarizes three "strong" stories illustrating perceptions of males, school, and teachers; the wet underpants story is layered over these background stories to reveal that even in his capacity as teacher, the male must preserve exclusive male/female roles, he views his position within the school as precarious, and he reveals characteristics of a "superhero"--special powers, a weakness, and a mission. The paper notes how, overall, the stories illustrate how maleness shapes the male teacher's identity as a teacher every day, and how his experience of masculinity changes with the context and the relationships. (Contains 17 references.) (KB)