Fri. July 17, 2026
CHICAGO, ILL. -
By Michael Oboza, Special to GoPride.com
During my last year as a volunteer photojournalist, I am grateful to acknowledge and give flowers to an inspiration and educator despite disabilities. Thank you, Alex Forgue, for having magic and sharing your legacy.
Childhood with supportive and liberal parents, internalized phobia and finding safe space are real struggles. That was true for local teacher Alex Forgue.
"Before coming out, I carried a lot of shame, even though I did not always know how to name it," Forgue said. "It often felt like I was hiding a part of myself or lying by omission. When people would ask me if I had a girlfriend and I simply said 'no,' it felt like I was not being fully honest, even if I was not ready to say anything more.
"A lot of it came from uncertainty within myself. I knew I found guys attractive and had crushes on guys, but I also found women attractive at times. But when I was younger, I was still trying to understand who I was."
Forgue did not come out in high school or early college. He came out to a few friends in college after transferring from community college to Northern Illinois University.
"I joined the LGBTQ group on campus, and that became one of the first places where I felt like I could be more honest," Forgue said. "In that social circle, I could be out. But in my everyday life, I still was not fully open. There was a difference between being out in a safe space and being out everywhere."
After coming out, self-discovery continues.
"Coming out was not one single moment where everything suddenly became easy," Forgue said. "It happened in stages. About a year later, I met my boyfriend, and being in that relationship helped me finally tell my family. Having someone I cared about made it feel more real and gave me a reason to be more open.
"After coming out, I slowly learned how to accept myself. I became more comfortable sharing my sexuality with new friends and coworkers. But even now, I am still learning how open I want to be in different parts of my life."
Working in a high school brings its own challenges and rewards.
"Part of me had always wanted to be a teacher, but I worried that my speech impediments, my stutter and rhotacism, would make that difficult," Forgue said. "In college, I worked hard to improve my speech, and that experience shaped me. Teaching is not just explaining physics. Coaching is not just writing workouts. It is helping young people grow.
"It is a lot of unpaid hours and emotional energy, but it is also incredibly rewarding. I love working with young people and helping them become more confident in who they are. There is so much more to each of us than one label, and everyone deserves the space to become who they are."
As a high school physics teacher and cross country and track and field coach, working with high school students, especially Gen Z students, has shown Forgue how accepting many young people are.
"Seeing students express themselves more openly has helped me be more open, too," Forgue said.
Lived experience advice is often a lifelong guru.
"Give yourself time and space to understand who you are," Forgue said. "You do not have to have the perfect label right away, or ever. Some people find comfort in labels. Some people try on different labels as they learn about themselves. Others, like me, wear labels more loosely because we do not want to feel confined by them.
"You also do not have to perform to be 'queer enough.' Your sexuality or gender identity can be an important part of you, but it does not have to define all of you. You can be LGBTQ and masculine. You can love sports. You can be a physics teacher, a coach, a mentor, and a million other things. You do not have to fit stereotypes, bend gender norms, or prove yourself to anyone."
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