Masculinity and its performance are a running motif in the novel, with characters like Sherman and Kramer constantly trying to assert their manliness and power. Sherman thinks of himself as a Master of the Universe, referring to bulked-up hypermasculine action figures. Sherman mocks the toys, modeled "like Norse gods who lifted weights […] [with] names such as Dracon, Ahar, Mangelred" (11). However, he is susceptible to their adolescent allure, imagining himself as a similar figure, conquering the universe. Sherman frames his trip to the Bronx as a heroic mission, deciding that he ended up saving Maria, a woman, and thus proving his manhood. At Maria's sublet that night, he makes love to her, thinking “the time had come to act like a man, and he had acted and prevailed. He [is] not merely a Master of the Universe; he [is] more, he [is] a man” (104). Sherman’s black Mercedes too can be seen as a symbol of his manly pride. That the Mercedes leads to his downfall shows the limits and perils of toxic masculinity.

Kramer's body language changes every time he sees a woman he deems attractive, whether it be Shelley or Maria. He pushes out his chest and stands up tall in a performance of masculinity.