Renowned comedian, actor, and writer David Mitchell has criticized the Cambridge Union’s decision to include pole dancing lessons as part of its Easter Term program.

Writing in the Guardian last Sunday, Mitchell, himself a Cambridge alumnus, labelled the decision as “plain daft”, adding, “Pole dancing is grim and I don't see anything empowering about learning it.”

Mitchell argued further that if the lessons are not intended to be sexual, as the Union claims, “why is it only for women? Shouldn't men get the chance to be empowered too?”

Juan de Francisco, the newly-elected Union Entertainment Officer, responded to Mitchell’s claims by saying, “Mitchell’s article, while pretty funny, is full of inaccuracies.”

He explained,  “As we've told many news outlets, the classes are women’s-only because the instructor has advised us that it is easier to teach single-sex classes, and also because while the classes aren’t sexual, most prefer the privacy.”

He added, “We've always said we’d be happy to have classes for men - but there just hasn’t been enough demand from male members for such classes to cover the cost of the instructor.”

Mitchell’s column is evidence of the stir that the decision has caused, with several national media outlets covering the story.

The classes, which will cost £2 for Union members, will be strictly all-women with class sizes capped at 15 participants. Initially, four classes were planned, but due to the high level of interest, the Union decided to double capacity and offer the classes twice a week.

While pole-dancing is regularly offered as a gym class and there is an International Pole Dancing Federation promoting it as an Olympic sport, the inclusion of the activity on the Union’s term card has raised many eyebrows.

de Francisco, who is coordinating the classes, said pole fitness, as he calls it, is meant only to be a de-stress exercise as students begin their final term. “The women aren't going to be wearing high heels either. It's not like that. They’ll be in sneakers or barefoot and wearing gym clothes,” he explained.

According to de Francisco, the interest in the classes is understandable. Nevertheless, he was “quite surprised at the media response.”

He added, “If I had to venture a guess, it would be because we're beginning to break the perception that has been built around Cambridge and the Union Society in particular. Historically both institutions have been very limited in their appeal and their aims. As the institutions begin to open up, people become interested.”

Kat Wynn, who will be the class’s instructor, also found the response unexpected, especially considering that she has taught pole-dancing in the town of Cambridge for the past six months without any of the same publicity.

For Wynn, pole-dancing is simply an activity that’s “fun, sociable and challenging, and encourages people to stay active.”

She added, “But if it just happens to make them feel a little bit sexier too, then where is the harm and what is the fuss about?”

Nevertheless, de Francisco wanted to make sure before promoting the classes that they were not seen as chauvinistic, so he ran the idea first by the University’s Women’s Union. Only after the majority of them expressed support did he go ahead.

Diva Tommei, a Women’s Union member from Clare Hall, confirmed the group’s positive stance, saying that their listserve had been buzzing about the class for the past week.

Tommei explained that “there are two schools of thought here. One is that it might really be something that women do to impress guys in a way and the other one is that they want to exclude guys from something that is usually (in strip clubs) only for them.”

Tommei herself is a fan of the class, but, she notes, “When the day comes in which the labour market will be fairly shared between men and women, that will be the end of pole-dancing.”

Other Cambridge student are more indifferent to the classes. Guy Kiddey, a Union member, noted only that “I think that pole dancing is unsophisticated; I find a full length dress more tantalising.”