2017

The reason I started this website was because of inspirational projects like this stylish crocheted twine and leather basket. Yes, it's actually made from dollar store materials! How would you use a pretty basket like this one? I think I'd like to use it in my bedroom to add some quiet style to my bedside (and I could keep some of my extra books in there). Find the instructions for this basket over at Make and Do Crew: [Dollar Store Twine & Leather Basket]

Supplies Needed:

• 6 balls of dollar store twine, $6
• Thrift store leather belt, $1 and up

Total: $6 and up

image via Paul Stringer/Shutterstock

Welcome to Feminism Around the World, a weekly feature here at TMS where we focus on women’s lives and feminist concerns around the world by applauding successes, reporting injustices, and amplifying the conversation around solutions to gender-based inequality. Because “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” – Teresa

PERU: Government Takes Tiniest Step Possible Toward Marriage Equality, So Yay?

In 2010, Peruvian gay rights activist Óscar Ugarteche was finally able to marry his partner of 17 years, Fidel Aroche, in Mexico City after Mexico legalized same-sex marriage. However, when he tried to register his marriage in his native country the following year through the Peruvian consulate so that he could change his marital status on his passport, his petition was denied. So, he filed a lawsuit against the Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil (RENIEC), the national registry agency in Lima.

After the civil court in Lima rejected the case in 2012 and Ugarteche took his case to a higher court in 2013, there’s finally been some justice done. Judge Malbina Saldaña ruled in favor of the couple, ordering RENIEC to recognize the marriage so that Ugarteche can update his paperwork. This is a great first, precedent-setting step for the LGBTQIA community in Peru.

However, RENIEC has vowed to appeal the ruling, and same-sex marriage remains illegal in Peru. This ruling would only apply to recognizing same-sex marriages that happen outside the country. I imagine that LGBTQIA couples will suddenly start making travel plans en masse and, for now, if they happen to get married in another country where same-sex marriage is legal, their home country will have to recognize it…but who knows how long this will last? Meanwhile, Ugarteche and Aroche continue to live in Mexico.

Here’s hoping that LGBTQIA activists in Peru are able to use this historic ruling to make same-sex marriage (along with full equality) a reality, finally catching up to much of Latin America.

(via LGBTQ Nation and El Comercio)

NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE

SWIZERLAND: “Swiss Muslim girls must learn to swim with boys, court rules” (CNN, 1/11/17)

INDIA: “Another YouTube ‘prankster’ is under fire for treating sexual harassment as a joke” (The Daily Dot, 1/9/17)

UNITED KINGDOM: “Jill Saward, campaigner against sexual violence, dies aged 51” (The Guardian, 1/5/17)

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Although not quite as ubiquitous a brand these days as Lego, the Playmobil toys were nevertheless a huge part of the lives of many kids who grew up in the past fifty years or so. Although those original figures and sets were themed around cowboys, construction workers, and medieval knights for the most part, we know that today it’s all about the licensing.

Fortunately, that’s were our friends at Funko come in, who announced a partnership with the Playmobil company last year to produce 6″ collectible figures done in the toy’s classic style, and this time based on famous pop culture properties. Now we finally have a first glimpse of some of these figures in their packaging, as well as a release date.

First up are the original 1980s era Ghostbusters, with new figures for our favorite parapsychologist research professors Raymond Stantz and Peter Venkman. (Hopefully Winston and Egon aren’t far behind!) Next up is the original Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka, along with an Oompa Loompa.

Another classic property is Back to the Future, with both Marty McFly and Doc Brown getting the 6″ treatment (Ed note: nice). The classic versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will include Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Shredder, as well as an exclusive black & white Raphael from Entertainment Earth. And finally, Doctor Who fans will be able to collect new 6″ figures of both the Eleventh and Fourth Doctors.

All of these figures will become available sometime this January. You can see preview images of all of these figures down below in our gallery.

Do you have a favorite among these new Playmobil Funko figures? And who would you like to see get their own figures in the future? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Playmobil/Funko