Throughout Mean Streets, a constant motif of toxic masculinity and uncouthness in order to seem more masculine was very much apparent. The main characters embody this through their lives of crime, considering themselves as the alphas of their social group due to the lives they lead. Everything is about doing things with the boys — whether that be organized crime, hanging around swanky strip clubs, or full on homicide. This can be correlated to Ghostface Killah’s extremities in vulgarity and violence because both sort of emphasize this very twisted approach to conventional masculinity. The idea of being a murderer or a thug or a mobster is enticing in these contexts because they embody some sort of solidarity between the “alpha males” of a social class. The ease at which both sides disregard their effeminate counterparts, such as when Ghostface openly spoke out against gay rappers, is an example of both sides’ toxic masculinity, and the violent content of their characters only serves as a medium to express said masculinity.