The Importance Of Masculinity In The Wolf Of Wall Street

Male dominance in relation to female inferiority has had a lasting impression on society since early forms of entertainment. Over time, the media has developed a cultural standard and universal definition of what it means to be a man and the relevance of masculinity. In the film The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort fulfills the definition of the quintessential macho man. His unethical behavior in muting feminism and devaluing the woman has a direct correlation to his increased value in an oversexed lifestyle and materialism.
While masculinity may vary in culture, there is a general consensus that all men must live up to being competitive, successful, and desirable. However, the ideology of masculinity is not inherited in ones genetics, it …show more content…
Money is the only thing that keeps Jordan’s masculinity alive because the more money he spends on his unethical addictions to drugs, sex, and money making, the more masculine he becomes. The film idolizes the desirability to live a materialistic lifestyle as Jordan explains, “Money doesn’t just buy you a better life, better food, better cars, better pussy. It also makes you a better person”. With the amount of money and power Jordan has, having good morals and values is the last thing on his mind. His wealth in combination to his unethical morals and values make him a desirable character to both men and women in the film because it asserts his supremacy and …show more content…
When Naomi files for divorce, refuses to have sex with, and take custody of their children, Jordan loses all self-control. Violence is significant when discussing masculinity because men are taught and encouraged by society and the media to be violent in order to assert their dominance. Instead of talking out his issues with his wife, he results to using his strength and belligerence to get his way. He reacts to Naomi’s refusals by beating her and fueling his feelings of anger with cocaine. By acting out in a way we never thought oh-so-put-together Jordan would, his violent acts become a “telling lapse into thuggery and ineptness [that] gives us a brief glimpse of his amoral compulsiveness stripped of its underdog alibi and coked-up charisma” (Fox). His credibility as the ultimate masculine figure that can keep the traditional ideologies of appropriate use of aggression and lust for dominance in balance fails when he loses the ability to control his actions. The film does not glorify him beating his wife. It does, however, show that violent behavior is the quickest way Jordan’s masculinity was stripped because he is no longer respected in his household. Masculinity is only successful if the people a man surrounds himself with give him the credibility