Netflix’s most popular documentary right now may be Tiger King, but the streaming site is full of illuminating docs on a wide variety of subjects, including sex. If you’ve ever wondered what life is truly like for porn stars or how the sex trade affects women across the world, Netflix has a number of documentaries that address these subjects. These docs aren’t designed to be titillating: they’re an honest look at the culture of sex and the business surrounding it. Some of these films aren’t easy to watch, but the stories they tell are fascinating, raw, and, above all, honest.
– Additional reporting by Lauren Harano
Related: Netflix Has a Whole Selection of Documentaries About Women, and Yes, We're Watching Them All
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Audrie & Daisy
Though it was released over four years ago, this film is just as topical as ever. It revolves around two young women who live across the country from each other, but who both were sexually assaulted during a high school party while they were unconscious, both by men whom they considered to be their friends. Their stories as survivors will leave you in awe of their strength.
Watch it now.
Everett Collection / Courtesy Everett Collection
Hot Girls Wanted
Hot Girls Wanted is a chilling look at the trend of young women straight out of high school being recruited as amateur porn stars via the internet. Several young women between the ages of 18 to 25 are interviewed, as well as their recruiter, a 20-something man named Riley Reynolds. The successful documentary went on to spawn a television series that tackles a wide range of subjects relating to sex that’s also available on Netflix.
Watch it now.
