I have a really deep need for men to validate me and I didn't notice it until recently. Their approval of my appearance and personality makes me feel validated in a way that women don't. But, I've never truly been sexually or romantically attracted to a man but I have been to multiple women. In fact, I never get particularly emotionally intimate with any men and I actually don't feel comfortable or self assured in their presence. I actually don't understand my feelings at all and they seem really strange.
I totally get where you are coming from. For me, I feel so much pressure around guys. I feel way more comfortable around women than men. I'm physically attracted to both men and women, but I find myself being more romantically drawn to women. I feel awkward and uncomfortable when a guy is actively flirting with me but when a women does (this has only happened once so far) it feels amazing.
From what it sounds like, your 'need' for men who validate you is not really a desire to be with men in a romantic/sexual/intimate way, but a result from our society that gives girls and women the message that our self-worth depends on how men view us. For example, in girl's magazines you'll read about how to dress and wear your make-up in order to make boys like you, etc. As a result, if you get "the male approval" you feel validated. Your feelings aren't weird or even uncommon - it's probably a (internalized) product from how society treats women and the relationship between men and women.
