Quidditch: Nerds Fight For Gender Equality

I was busily buying tickets to attend the Quidditch World Cup next month, and found myself perusing the IQA (International Quidditch Association) website. There is a documentary film coming out about the 2010 World Cup: what started as a Harry Potter fan game in Vermont a few years ago has become a sport drawing hundreds of teams from around the world to New York City.

On their website, I found this video about a new ruling in the sport. If you watch it, skip to 3:25 to get to the point. Basically, as the sport is growing in popularity, women are becoming marginalized. The board of directors at IQA decided to pass a rule that would require all teams to have a 4:3 ratio of gender equality. Apparently this has not been enthusiastically embraced. You may be surprised that anyone cares enough about a fantasy sport to get riled up. However, Muggle Quidditch, based on the Harry Potter series, has become its own legitimate world. Quidditch is not a joke, it’s a way to socialize and exercise and yes, to have fun.

Why is it co-ed in the first place? Because that’s how it was in the books. Because everyone can be athletic. And because the founders made it that way. In the video, the board of the IQA is passionate about their sport and the impact it can have on gender relationships and sports around the world. It’s still for fun, but fantasy books are for fun, yet Harry Potter changed the way the world looks at geeks. You know it.

I actually got teary-eyed listening to the Commissioner speak about how Joanne Rowling was pushed to change her name so no one would know she was a women, since it would hurt sales of the book. He and the board believe women and men should be treated equally in all areas of life, and if they have the power to do something about it, they will. I applaud their decision, and also their willingness to wait to implement it until after this year’s cup, so teams do not have to restructure their member rosters last minute. That’s just polite.

Next month, I’ll be cheering with my two kids, one boy and one girl, at the World Cup. It will be one of the few places where both my kids can be inspired in creativity, competition and community.