One of the unspoken things that complicates the discussion is what we mean by the 'man' part of MIAD. I am now a confirmed happy MIAD, because I define man as a broad category- anyone either male anatomically or generally masculine. I think what drives the desire of many of us to want to leave the 'man' part behind is that we feel we want to be free of all the associations with manhood- the rules, expectations, outmoded or negative traits that are allowed for and indulged in by men, etc.
I resolve all this by saying I am a mirl, a male and a man who is also girly frequently. Each of us who likes MIAD basically is ok with being a man and then reaching out to enjoy all that dresses mean to us. We can see that we are men, and yet we want to wear a dress. I found 5 different reasons for me, and each exists without the other, though they interact somewhat.
-sensual: the rustling of the dress hem , the slithering of the bodice lining, etc
-sexual: I love to feel desirable and to emphasize my waist and hips, with clothes signaling my receptivity
-fashion: I love the range of colors and patterns and to be a walking painting
-permission to feel and behave like a woman is allowed to- in nonsexual ways: this is harder to explain, but I can feel it all through my body- more relaxed, energy flows differently, lighter, more aware of all sorts of things
-political: having been bedeviled by being in the closet, I want to blow off the closet doors for everyone and get this whole unnecessary painful constraint over with- worldwide!!! Ok.. just saying
