Miles McKenna (born November 2, 1995) is an American

vlogger A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in ...

, actor, and

LGBTQIA+ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

advocate. McKenna is a

trans man A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inc ...

and is among YouTube's most prominent trans creators with over one million subscribers. His videos incorporate comedic skits and often include commentary on

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...

and other LGBTQ issues. Through his videos, McKenna documented his coming out and his transition, including the effects of

hormone replacement therapy Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or postmenopausal hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy used to treat symptoms associated with female menopause. These symptoms can include hot flashes, vaginal ...

and top surgery.

Early life and vlogging

Based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, McKenna grew up in a strict religious family. As a teenager, he lived in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

and started making confessional-style videos for

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

in 2011. McKenna "hated being seen as a girl" and after friends Ezra and Marshall Kelly described McKenna as "a boy trapped in a girl's body", McKenna realized he had a crisis of identity. McKenna

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

in 2015. During McKenna's transition, he documented the process through his vlogs, including changes in his appearance and struggles with his family. In a January 2017 video entitled "So I'm Trans", McKenna revealed himself as

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and announced intentions to legally change his name. McKenna began taking

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...

as part of FTM

. He developed a severe case of cystic

acne Acne, also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include blackheads or whiteheads, pimples, oily skin, and ...

on his face and body. He attempted to address the skin condition with his physician, was placed on antibiotics for 60 days, and made dietary changes. The condition cleared up after he stopped taking testosterone. McKenna later elected to have top surgery and identified himself as a

Later career

As a

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

, McKenna vlogs under the account MilesChronicles and has some 1.18 million subscribers. The account features comedy, skits, and commentary on topics such as

and gender dysphoria. Subscribers to McKenna's channel have said that his videos empowered them to be open about their gender identities. McKenna also has over 811,000 followers on Instagram. McKenna is partnered with the network Fullscreen and hosted the short-form docuseries ''Hella Gay with Miles McKenna'', which featured

man on the street ( )Vox Populi
. Oxford Diction ...

interviews. He also had a role on the interactive drama series ''Guilty Party''. McKenna signed with the

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. U ...

in August 2017. McKenna headlined the 2017 ''Love is Love'' tour alongside

Shannon Beveridge Shannon Beveridge (born March 19, 1992) is an American YouTuber, actress, photographer and LGBT advocate. Born in Texas, she started her YouTube channel, nowthisisliving', in 2012 and now has over 600,000 subscribers. In 2017, she won the best L ...

and

Rebecca Black Rebecca Renee Black (born June 21, 1997) is an American singer and YouTuber. She gained extensive media coverage when the music video for her 2011 single "Friday" went viral on YouTube and other social media sites. "Friday" was derided by many ...

. McKenna played the character Justin in '' All Night'', a 2018 comedy web series on Hulu. At the

10th Shorty Awards The 10th Annual Shorty Awards powered by DirecTV Now, honoring the best in social media, took place on April 15, 2018, at the PlayStation Theater, New York City. The ceremony was hosted by actress, singer, songwriter, Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana ...

, McKenna won the award for Best LGBTQ+ Account. He was also presenter for the

11th Shorty Awards The 11th Shorty Awards were held on May 5, 2019, in New York City at the PlayStation Theater. The ceremony was hosted by American actress and comedian Kathy Griffin, along with a music performance by Tank and the Bangas. The event was live stre ...

in 2019. As an out trans person, McKenna is frequently the target of harassment campaigns. Following a controversial Brown University study of "

rapid onset gender dysphoria Rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) is a proposed subtype of gender dysphoria said to be caused by peer influence and social contagion. It has not been recognized by any major professional association as a valid mental health diagnosis, and use ...

" in 2018, McKenna was among the digital influencers blamed for glamorizing the "transgender lifestyle" During

VidCon VidCon is an annual convention for fans, creators, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering. Vetera ...

2019, McKenna was part of a panel on LGBT activism and awareness. During the session, moderator Stevie Wynne Levine deadnamed McKenna, using his pre-transition name and pronouns. In her apology she stated that she did not know it was inappropriate. VidCon and panel presenters

The Trevor Project The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number wher ...

both also issued apologies to McKenna. Following the cancellation of VidCon 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, McKenna agreed to take part in a virtual panel with Elle Mills for VidCon Now. McKenna's book about coming out, ''Out!: How To Be Your Authentic Self'', was published in May 2020 and released on International Coming Out Day, October 6, 2020. The foreword is by fellow YouTuber

Tyler Oakley Mathew Tyler Oakley (born March 22, 1989) is an American YouTuber, actor, activist and author. Much of Oakley's activism has been dedicated to LGBT youth, LGBT rights, as well as social issues including health care, education, and the preventio ...

. Some of the proceeds from the book go to

GLSEN GLSEN (pronounced ''glisten''; formerly the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) is an American education organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expres ...

. On October 12, 2020, McKenna released his first single, Boys Will Be Boys, on Spotify. In 2021, McKenna began a relationship with Los Angeles-based

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

Jonnie Reinhart. As of 2022, the pair have split.

References

External links

MilesChronicles
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Miles 1995 births Living people American transgender writers American transgender actors American YouTubers Male actors from California Transgender male actors Transgender male writers American web series actors LGBT YouTubers YouTube vloggers YouTubers who make LGBT-related content Actors from Orange County, California Comedy YouTubers Commentary YouTubers Writers from Los Angeles 21st-century American male writers Shorty Award winners 20th-century American LGBT people 21st-century American LGBT people

Early life and vlogging

Later career

References

Further reading

External links