The Best Documentary On Sex, Reproduction And Silly Mating Rituals

Because I’m a party animal, the last thing I want to do is spend an evening watching a documentary. I recently discovered Netflix and I’ve devoured every documentary series I could find for instant viewing. Here’s a list of my favorite documentaries that revolve around the subject of reproduction

1. Part 2 of The Human Body – ‘Everyday Miracles’ explores the fragility of pregnancy and the surprising obstacles that make human conception particularly difficult. The BBC’s Robert Winston shows spectacular video footage of ovulation and conception that has never been seen before in this series.
2. The Universe. A Personal Voyage, Episode 2 – “One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue” revolves around the emergence of life on Earth through biogenesis and the evolution of life from the amino acid sphere to the complex life we see on Earth today. Carl Sagan discusses artificial and natural selection, and the mechanisms that drive them.
3. The Lives of Mammals Episode 1 – “Victory by Design” focuses on the reproductive strategies of the strangest mammals, monotremes and marsupials. This episode covers the egg-laying strategies of platypus and echidna, as well as the fertility and lactation of marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas.
4. The Business of Birth – This film by Ricki Lake discusses the stress that hospitals put on mothers and the benefits of home births. While it’s a bit one-sided, I thought it was a compelling look at the dark side of a medical industry that is afraid of lawsuits.
5. The fourth part of the human body – “Angry Teenagers” explains the changes that occur during puberty, and the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
6. The elaborate mating rituals of birds are shown in episode 7 of Life of Birds – Finding a Partner. This episode left me speechless at the elaborate displays and strategies that birds use to find their mates.
7. Pornucopia – While the rest of this list is high on the list, I couldn’t leave out this 6-part series about the porn industry in the San Fernando Valley. (Oh, my lovely hometown. While the documentary is at times overwhelmingly positive about porn culture and the status of women in the industry, I still found it interesting enough to watch all six episodes in one night.

Have you seen any of these documentaries? Are there any other great ones that I haven’t mentioned? Please share in the comments section, as I love finding new documentaries to watch.