"...most of the women in my life don't connect sex to emotional intimacy. They see those two energies as being completely different. But when they are around men who connect the two, then the women struggle to be emotionally intimate with them as they are afraid that sex will quickly follow."

This does, indeed, happen very frequently with women. It seems many men want to conquer us — if not sexually, then mentally, or emotionally — and if they cannot do that, they turn on us, begin to find fault with us, criticize/correct us, or put us down in whatever way they can. It takes a very strong, experienced woman to realize what is happening and to realize that we were not at fault. Thus, we often become affected by this, too.

"Bravo!" to you for attempting to understand and heal yourself, and a big "Thank you!" for explaining this, as you have, so that others might benefit as well! 💙