The following essay is a discussion of the author's work of becoming a male feminist teacher in the face of conservative views of feminism as well as skepticism from female (and male) students. He examines how authority (of knowledge) and authenticity (of experience) inform and impact the feminist practice of a male writing teacher. He concentrates on a course he regularly teaches, English 306, Women and Writing, a junior level course that is one of several offered to fulfill students' composition requirement. (Contains 2 notes.)