AceShowbiz -

While she has no trouble attracting the attention of men these days, Madonna apparently was far from popular among the opposite sex when growing up. In fact, the "Hung Up" hitmaker revealed in an interview for the December issue of Harper's Bazaar that the boys from her high school used to call her "hairy monster".

"The boys in my school would make fun of me. 'Hairy monster.' You know, things like that," recalled the Material Girl, who is featured on the cover of the magazine with her "W.E." star Andrea Riseborough. She added, "Straight men did not find me attractive. I think they were scared of me because I was different."

Addressing the reason why she got the nickname, the former wife of director Guy Ritchie said, "Going to high school, I saw how popular girls had to behave to get the boys. I knew I couldn't fit into that. So I decided to do the opposite." She elaborated, "I refused to wear makeup, to have a hairstyle. I refused to shave. I had hairy armpits."

When it comes to love, the "Like a Prayer" hitmaker said that men "can also be more than just sexual, um, appendages." She explained, "I don't necessarily like to use the word lover because it sounds like they just come over and have sex with you. I aspire to more than that, and I need more than that. Someone to share my inner life with. That's extremely important. It's also important that my children admire and respect this partner that I would choose for myself."

During the chat, Madonna also explained why she is very guarded at times. "For some reason, I feel like I never left high school, because I still feel that if you don't fit in, you're going to get your ass kicked," she said. "That hasn't really changed for me. I've always been acutely aware of differences and the way you are supposed to act if you want to be popular."