Red Tape Video (MV)

Ever since I was a kid
I remember feeling
Restrained by my gender
Masculinity was a Bible telling me
Who I was expected to be
How to act how to talk
How to walk how to sit
How to shake hands how to think

Don't stand with a limp wrist
They said
You look gay with your hair like that
I had so much anxiety growing up Every day wondering
Do they know I'm gay

What would they do if they found out
Would my friends still like me
Would my parents still love me
And so I'd the way I sat
And I would mind
The way that I spoke

And I would mind the way
That I would move my hands
When I talked
Because that's too feminine
American culture taught me that
Being gay was bad
And being hypersexual
Was a sin and because
I was always told that
They were one and the same

I gave my body to
Anyone who would ask
As soon as I came out the closet
I told myself
This is how gays are supposed to act
I'm following the blueprint
So how come I still don't love myself

But being gay
Doesn't have a blueprint
It doesn't come with expectations
Or a set of rules
Like being a straight man does
It does however come with red tape

A whole bunch of unnecessary steps And processes I have to go through
To feel human
Or to feel anything sometimes
Why Because I'm gay
I'm more than just gay

I'm funny
I'm smart
If I can go back in time
And tell that little boy
That it's not about
The way you're standing

It's about what you're standing for
It's about who you are
It's about what you
Share with the world
It's not about what you're hiding

Especially when it's not
Something worth hiding
So these are my stories
I'm cutting through the red tape