Women of Wall Street

Wolf of Wall Street was released in 2013. It is based on true events of Jordan Belfort (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio) and is a black comedy, directed by Martin Scorsese, about yuppies lifestyles and Belfort’s career in the stock markets. The only women the audience view in his life are his first wife, Teresa (portrayed by Cristin Milioti), the many sex workers, and his second wife Naomi (portrayed by Margot Robbie).

Women can be put down for owning their sexuality and this can come down to the "Madonna-Whore Complex." It is Freudian theory that is said to develop in men who can only separate women in two categories: one category (Madonna) is women he can admire and find sexually attractive and the other category (Whore) includes women he despises and disrespects. "The Madonna" is often seen as the virgin, a mother, passive while "The Whore" is promiscuous, scheming, and does not respect herself. Freud noticed that some of his male clients found it difficult to find their wives sexually attractive and have affairs or go to sex workers, because he could not separate the idea of sex and disrespecting women. This is often a trope used in literature, TV and film.

Wolf of Wall Street has the "Madonna-Whore" trope. The film has many gratuitous sex and nudity scenes, but one woman the audience does not see in a sexual portrayal is Jordan’s first wife, Teresa. She’s not as prominent as Naomi but is a big part of Jordan’s life in the first segment of the film but the audience watches her fade away as Jordan’s avarice grows. The film is through Jordan’s point of view, so the lack of sexuality portrayed on his wife is his view of her which, by default, is the audience’s point of view. There are no sex scenes in the five scenes Teresa is in, but in the first three, she is the Madonna with respect, she is passive, and she is supportive of him. In the last two scenes that feature Teresa, she is tossed away for Naomi. Naomi becomes Jordan’s second wife two thirds into the film.

The film questions if Jordan respects Naomi and if her sexuality is empowering. She is the first woman to have screen time in the film—she lays on a bed of in her underwear, flirting with the camera. She is listed in a series of Jordan’s prized possessions in his first-person narration. She is the most sexualised female character in the film, even though the only times we see Jordan have sex with her it’s humiliating for him or there are blurred lines of consent (that is a discussion for another time.) She is his most prized possession and he can only give her anything materialistic to keep her happy. After their marriage, which is very quickly after his first divorce, she is still sexualised but the focus of desires turns to sex workers because she becomes a mother and nagging housewife. His object of lust and his new-found respect of her being a mother confuse. Some would say that Naomi’s character is liberating because the first scene the audience views her fully naked was the first time Margot Robbie consented to a full nude scene.

Margot Robbie states in an interview:

“The whole point of Naomi is that her body is her only form of currency in this world. So when Marty was trying to help me out, and said in the scene where she seduces Jordan perhaps I could have a robe on, I said she wouldn’t. She has to be naked. She’s laying her cards on the table.”

Margot Robbie made critical decisions based on her analysis of the character, she disagrees with unnecessary nudity of a character, so she decided this role would be the best for her first nude scene as it fits the character of Naomi, who is materialistic and cunning. It’s a scene that shows empowering female sexuality for the actress and the character.

Another scene that features Naomi owning her sexuality is debated which is after their first argument the audience views, Naomi and Jordan use BDSM roleplay language with "Mommy" and "Daddy." Naomi makes a point of punishing Jordan with her sexuality by subtly announcing that she’ll tease him with short skirts and "no panties" which causes Jordan to look on with agony. It looks like Naomi had "won" until Jordan reveals that a teddy bear has a security camera installed, which the security staff of their home had been watching. Naomi aggressively leaves defeated. The scene before this point showed Naomi using what she owned with power, but it quickly turned into a humiliating experience with her own weapon.

While the film has been pretty much universally agreed that it does not show women in the most empowering light, it is certainly interesting to see how the women in Jordan’s life are treat. The sex workers are, of course, degraded and seen as objects by yuppies. Teresa, who was once the most important woman in his life, is shown very little screen time, not sexualised in any way and is tossed aside. Naomi is a character the viewer would expect to be two-dimensional, but she comes out of the film looking a better person than Jordan and a very cunning woman. Some may see her as the "Whore" due to the way she uses her body as currency in a materialistic era, others will see her as a business woman.