Tara Hurley (born August 6, 1976) is an American director of the 2009 documentary ''

Happy Endings? ''Happy Endings?'' is a 2009 cinéma vérité documentary film directed and produced by Tara Hurley. Filmed over 27 months, it chronicles the lives of the women in massage parlors in Rhode Island during a battle in the state legislature to once ...

''.Channel 12 Street Stories
Hurley was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

and grew up in the Riverside section of East Providence. She graduated from

Providence College Providence College is a private Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the local diocese, it offers 47 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate programs. It requires all of its undergradua ...

in 1998, where she received a bachelor's degree in Humanities. She studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain her junior year.Facebook
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''Happy Endings?''

Hurley's 2009 documentary following the debate over

prostitution in Rhode Island Prostitution in Rhode Island was outlawed in 2009. On November 3, 2009, Republican Governor Donald Carcieri signed into law a bill which makes the buying and selling of sexual services a crime. Prostitution was legal in Rhode Island between 1980 an ...

where prostitution has been

decriminalize Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the reclassification in law relating to certain acts or aspects of such to the effect that they are no longer considered a crime, including the removal of criminal penalties in relation to them. This reform ...

d for almost three decades. Hurley turned her cameras on the women in the Asian

massage parlor A massage parlor (American English) or massage parlour (Canadian/British English) is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel. Context In 1894 ...

s at the center of the debate to criminalize prostitution where there had been rumors of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

.The Brief, 6/8/09: "Happy Endings?" - WBRU News
Before making ''Happy Endings?'', Hurley says she had no preconceived notions on prostitution, and wanted to make the film to find out how she felt as a woman and a feminist about prostitution. In one interview Hurley states "I couldn't force an opinion on anyone because I didn't really have one. After making the film, doing all the research, and meeting all the people, I personally believe that all prostitution laws harm the women that they claim to protect. When a woman is arrested and gets a criminal record, she no longer has a chance to get out of sex work even if she wanted to. When filling out a job application it will be difficult to explain the criminal record, especially with all the stigma that comes with prostitution. To add insult to injury, I am offended that only the woman is arrested."Bitchin Film Review Happy Endings?
/ref> While debating the change in Rhode Island's prostitution law, Hurley stated that she was in support of full legalization of prostitution, though she later wrote in support of the Swedish model of prostitution law for Rhode Island as an alternative to the criminalization of sex workers. She also made an appearance on The Dan Yorke Show in which she discussed the film. Hurley joined the fight to pass stronger human trafficking laws.Providence Journal-Tougher sex laws gain backing
/ref> In addition to working for tougher trafficking laws, Hurley also brought women from the spas to testify against the proposed prostitution law.
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References

External links

Official Film Website

Official Film Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Tara 1976 births Living people American feminists Providence College alumni Artists from Providence, Rhode Island