'Personally I prefer my men with body hair'

In a blog piece that has gone viral, Malaga-based blogger and journalist Paloma Goñi described her lifelong battle with body hair.

She said that after many years of shaving her armpits and legs in summer, she was no longer sure if she would continue the "torture".

The piece was picked up by various media outlets and has now been published by the US edition of the Huffington Post.

We spoke to Paloma on Friday and asked her what she made of all the fuss.

Are you surprised by the huge interest in your piece?

I'm surprised — yes — but mainly because I didn't really think having body hair was so special.

My boyfriend was also a bit taken aback for the same reasons. We just didn't think a woman with hairy armpits or legs was something so abnormal.

Does your boyfriend want you to shave off your body hair?

My boyfriend respects me and he respects my decisions.

To be honest, I've never actually asked him, but I think he probably prefers women who are shaved.

He probably likes it because it's normal. If you don't see hairy women around, you don't think about it.

And have you decided yet whether you are going to shave this summer or not?

Let me put it this way: it has never been a question of never again. 

Maybe I'll shave tomorrow.

But if I decided not to shave for a month, it would good if it wasn't an issue.

What do you think about men who shave their bodies?

Personally I like men with hair! But if I had a man who decided to get rid of his body hair — well, no problem. He can choose for himself.

And what do you think of beards and moustaches?

If I like the man, I don't really care about facial hair!

Men should feel free to choose their facial hairstyle.

What kinds of reactions have you received to your blog piece?

It's been a mixture, but I would say about half are from women who don't like shaving either, and who have been supportive.

There are lots of women like me who don't shave in winter, and I don't think that fact is widely recognized either.

I've also had some negative comments too, of course.

Do you think Spanish people focus too much on beauty?

I don't know if Spain is more focused on appearance than other countries in the West, but I think countries like Spain are very interested in appearance.

We spend a lot of time and money on make-up for example, which is something else I'm not really into.

With body hair, I think the main thing is that it shouldn't be an obligation to get rid of it.

If you can't get a job because of body hair, or if you can't find a partner, then it's a problem.

You can read Paloma Goñi's original piece (in Spanish) on her blog airesdecambio.com.