Feminist historians have argued that the body needs to be historicized, noting that the body, rather than simply a static, biological, or material reality, is a site of inscription and intervention for notions of nation, race, class, sexuality, ability, and gender within particular historical contexts. Some feminist scholars have made particular reference to women's bodies as sites of inscription when undertaking investigations of health systems and the medical world. Far too few feminist historians have examined the "body" beyond these institutions. This article expands the field to explore women's bodies within the institution of the school. The article demonstrates that the woman teacher's body was a site of inscription for historical definitions of gender, professionalism, and nation. The article also speaks to the "body" as a site of resistance, in this case women teachers' control of their bodies as a form of negotiating power within schools. This article looks at women teachers' daily struggles and pleasures with bodily performances of their gender and occupational roles within early post-WWII Toronto public secondary schools. The oral histories of ten women teachers are examined to understand their daily, active negotiations to embody prevailing definitions of respectability.