uryder's blog

The Socially Networked Buddhist

Full text available on Cultural Weekly


I have five email accounts, Google+, Facebook, a Fan Page, and at least 4 blog sites all because everyone else has. And I was raised in a Buddhist community.



Charlie Sheen is Still Winning

Available on Yahoo


Charlie Sheen continues to work and win. But what about women in Hollywood?



Caylee Anthony or Alexis Glover?: Race and the Murder of Children

Also available on The Cultural Weekly


Everyone seems to be upset about the outcome of the Casey Anthony trial. Given the media circus – and what has been divulged about the facts of the case – the outrage seems justified. What we know is that Caylee Anthony is dead and it appears that her mother must have had something to do with her murder. The murder of a small child is a horrible act. It is even more terrible when a parent or guardian – whose duty it is to protect that child – is responsible. But the lesson of the Casey Anthony trial is not just one of a (possible) miscarriage of justice or a murderer who beat the system. It also tells us a lot about the value of some children in our society and the lack of value of others.



The Meaning of the 4th of July, 2011

Also available on The Feminist Wire


Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them . . . your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery. . . a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.


Gender-Neutral or Wishful Thinking?

Also available on The Feminist Wire

Can we raise gender-neutral children? A Toronto couple is attempting to do just that. Kathy Witterick and David Stocker have decided to allow their third child, Storm, to decide which gender he or she identifies with. This has caused some confusion. It is a basic impulse for people to approach the parents of babies and ask “So, is it a boy or girl?” It is very unusual for the parents to reply, as this couple does, “We’ve decided not to share Storm’s sex for now…” Many people applaud their decision and support the belief – gender equality – underlying the decision. A Facebook page has been created in support of the family. On the other hand, many people have expressed outrage over their decision and believe withholding this information is akin to child abuse. One man is so upset that he has created a Facebook page in opposition to this couple and has threatened to report them to child abuse investigators. At this time, the support page has twice as many “friends” as the opposition page.



Mahler B. Ryder, Jr.: Art, Technology and a Daughter’s Memory

Also available on The Cultural Weekly


This is the 19th Father’s Day since my father’s death. Most people remember my father as a visual artist. Some also remember him as a jazz pianist. One professor and his wife at Brown University remember him as the neighbor who called the fire department in the middle of the night and saved their home (and the professor) from burning to the ground. I remember him as an amateur historian, a lover of knowledge, a man who always wished his own education had been more complete.



Becoming Chaz, Remaking Oprah

Also available on Cultural Weekly


I like being female, at least most of the time. But even on days when it might be easier to be male (like when I have to walk several blocks in heels), I don’t really want to be a man. I just want to be wearing comfortable shoes and am jealous that men’s shoes (usually) don’t come with the risk of a twisted ankle, sore toes or blisters. I have no idea what it would be like to want to surgically remove my breasts, take hormone injections and otherwise alter my body (and life) completely.



Gender-Neutral or Wishful Thinking?

Also available on The Feminist Wire



Can we raise gender-neutral children? A Toronto couple is attempting to do just that. Kathy Witterick and David Stocker have decided to allow their third child, Storm, to decide which gender he or she identifies with. This has caused some confusion. It is a basic impulse for people to approach the parents of babies and ask “So, is it a boy or girl?” It is very unusual for the parents to reply, as this couple does, “We’ve decided not to share Storm’s sex for now…” Many people applaud their decision and support the belief – gender equality – underlying the decision. A Facebook page has been created in support of the family. On the other hand, many people have expressed outrage over their decision and believe withholding this information is akin to child abuse. One man is so upset that he has created a Facebook page in opposition to this couple and has threatened to report them to child abuse investigators. At this time, the support page has twice as many “friends” as the opposition page.