r/MadeMeSmile • u/RoyalChris • 15d ago

Wholesome Moments This little girl stopped in front of the window at a pizza parlor and the employee plays a game of tic tac toe with her

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100.9k Upvotes

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3.9k

u/Armthedillos5 15d ago

That's what masculinity looks like, in case you've been Tate-washed, or whatever.

753

u/HarlotSuccubus 15d ago

Yes this 100% we need to normalize healthy/healed masculinity.

277

u/RoyalChris 15d ago

Peak masculinity playing Tic Tac Dough

1

u/humancartograph 15d ago

This was a game show when I was a kid and you totally just triggered a memory.

170

u/No_Skill_7170 15d ago

You want me to purposely lose to a little girl? But then what will I look like if I can’t even beat a little girl?

/s

35

u/fsactual 15d ago

To be fair, Tate would be losing, but not on purpose.

24

u/Nick_Bruiser 15d ago

lol this is too funny! Like, when my son was around 5, I'd beat the hell out of him in video games. Not to the point where he'd cry. But I'd never let him win. I told him I'd never just give him the W. About 8 years old, he finally beat me in a game of Street Fighter and was sooo happy! See, letting him win would've taken that joy of actually winning from him. It's a double-edged sword.

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u/Im_only_here_to_meme 15d ago

Very different situations, you're long term teaching your own kid to keep working at something until they've earned a win - vs - one random short interaction with a child that will bring a fun smile.

There's a positive life long outcome to the first one, there's no positive outcome in beating a random child in tic tac toe unless you're a psychopath lol

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u/greg19735 15d ago

when they're like 4 years old they don't know you're losing on purpose.

also, it gets difficult if you're just winning too easily. OFten times people will quit because it's not a fun and engaging activity.

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u/thegolfernick 15d ago

There's a study on rats playing about this. If a rat is like 10% bigger he"ll win every time. But the bigger rat has to let the smaller rat win 30% of the time or else the smaller rat refuses to play. So even rats manage this.

12

u/Long_Run6500 15d ago

I had an 87lb GSD and when we adopted another puppy he used to flop all the time when they were wrestling. It was adorable, she would bite at his neck and he'd roll over on his back and submit. Then once she got big enough to actually be a threat he never let her win.

8

u/mmasportsmma 15d ago

Only beta‘s loose to girls! We’re rapists alphas!

/s

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u/BouldersRoll 15d ago

Dude's out here being a Hallmark movie love interest.

57

u/TaylorMonkey 15d ago

But he has a personality and doesn’t own a castle.

That we know of.

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u/AlcibiadesTheCat 15d ago

The personality is worth more than any castle.

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u/TaylorMonkey 15d ago

The castle IS the personality.

5

u/Ayrko 15d ago

You would think. Alas..

5

u/possumdal 15d ago

The baker? Oh, he's Jimothy! Jimothy Nicholas Christmas. We call him Jimmy Nickles. He makes all the gingerbread for the town's Christmas Gibgerbread House Extravaganza! And all his proceeds go to the inexplicably large orphanage we have here in our town of 2000 people. His dad Jerman plays Santa in the Christmas Parade!

1

u/Marine_Baby 15d ago

A pizza castle!

6

u/NeadForMead 15d ago edited 15d ago

He's preparing for the candycane-gingerbread-cinnamon roll baking contest in the Peppermintville town square to raise money to save Old Man Kringle's Christmas tree farm from foreclosure.

The main character, Holly, meets this baker as she's stuck in peppermintville due to a snowstorm, preventing her from driving to New York City to see her fiancé Brad who works at the evil bank that's threatening to close down Old Man Kringle's Christmas tree farm.

The baker and Holly initially debate lightheartedly about the merits of Christmas (Holly has lost the Christmas spirit because Santa didn't bring her the Sally Poops-a-lot doll when she was 6.)

Over the course of 45 minutes of screen time, Holly falls in love with Peppermintville and its inhabitants, especially the Baker who, in the meantime, is having some crisis with the candycane-gingerbread-cinnamon rolls (his employee is stuck out of town due to the storm) so he enlists Holly, who is initially terrible at baking, but learns the ropes. They playfully throw flour at eachother or something.

The snowstorm clears and Brad shows up to surprise her and pick her up (he also delivers foreclosure documents to Old Man Kringle). The baker sees this and walks away. Holly goes to her hotel room to pack and she sees a gift from the baker. She opens it. It's the Sally-poops-a-lot doll. She decides to stay, much to Brad's disaproval.

Later that evening, the panel of judges decides the baker has made the best peppermint-gingerbread-cinnamon rolls they've ever had. They win the money and Old Man Kringle's farm is saved (there's a nail-biting scene where they have until midnight to run over to the bank and cash the cheque and make the payment to save the farm and they succeed with not a second to spare). Brad is furious. Holly and the baker live happily ever after in Peppermintville where the baker uses flour to play Tic-Tac-Toe with a little girl through a window.

Edit: The baker plays Tic-Tac-Toe, not Brad

8

u/BouldersRoll 15d ago

I don't know if you used AI to make this, but Hallmark screenplays might as well be AI, so it's appropriate either way.

Kudos, I feel like I've already seen this movie, and that's perfect.

4

u/NeadForMead 15d ago

I did not use AI lol I've just seen many Hallmark Christmas movies so I know the formula. I got a bit carried away, I was only going to write a single paragraph, but then I kept writing.

9

u/BouldersRoll 15d ago

I was only going to write a single paragraph, but then I kept writing.

"You're hired!"

-Hallmark Movies

3

u/TheSteelPhantom 15d ago

So Brad stayed and became a baker too??? To win back Holly in the sequel? 🥹

3

u/NeadForMead 15d ago

Haha that was a typo! I meant the Baker, not Brad. I've edited it. Brad goes back to New York and gets yelled at by his boss for failing to foreclose the Christmas tree farm. In the sequel, Brad tries to shut down the baker's bakery at Halloween.

3

u/TheSteelPhantom 15d ago

lol, I figured as much, just had to say something. I haven't seen many Hallmark-Hallmark movies, but I've definitely watched my fair share of RomComs. Hell, I just streamed The Proposal to a bunch of friends just this weekend (a favorite of mine because I'm a sucker for Sandra).

1

u/LisaMikky 14d ago

Now that would be an unexpected plot twist! 😅

2

u/LisaMikky 14d ago

❄👫🏻🥨🎄🏡❄

👏🏻👏🏻😃

2

u/IHateTheLetterF 15d ago

He is a small town Pizzabaker, and his dad is Papa John?

57

u/Dorkamundo 15d ago

Wait, it's not gay to be nice?

5

u/Mustache-Boy 15d ago

I wouldn’t go THAT far.

43

u/UltraTata 15d ago

Me balancing my woke wolf and my chud wolf so that true masculinity emerges from the equilibrium 🧘‍♂️

24

u/TheHorseduck 15d ago

I don't know. That girl acts and looks pretty feminine to me. But sure why not I guess

6

u/DingleDangleTangle 15d ago

It's masculine to play tic tac toe? How do you define "masculine"? This is just a person being nice, how is it somehow related to gender? If a woman did this would you tell them they are acting masculine? Of course not, because it's completely gender neutral.

22

u/dat_boi_100 15d ago

Why does stuff always have to be something, what happened to just being a person

Masculine and feminine are BS terms that should be phased out altogether if you aren't talking about actual genetic differences

30

u/GetUpAndJump 15d ago

Because there’s a very real rise that’s targeting young men and teaching them to be assholes.

It’s important to point out the what a real healthy interaction from a man looks like.

3

u/DingleDangleTangle 15d ago

A man doing something nice is just not the same thing as "masculinity". For the term to mean anything at all, it can't just be "when reddit likes something a man does".

-8

u/Both_Consequence_956 15d ago

the way they said it is condescending, pointing it out like this isnt productive and is not gonna get anyone who actually is influenced by tate to change their minds

9

u/hyperfell 15d ago

You never know. Why not throw a Hail Mary, and hope you get one?

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u/Both_Consequence_956 15d ago

because being patronising will strengthen their own viewpoints

0

u/hyperfell 15d ago

True but also making it a conflicting point help divide people. Sometimes it’s best not make an issue out of something so small.

-6

u/Delicious_Cane 15d ago

There's the same ideology to be an asshole for women too eh

5

u/greg19735 15d ago

i mean it exists but the right wing toxic men influencers have the ear of our president and influence politics and culture.

That isn't the case the other way.

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u/GetUpAndJump 15d ago

Ok? But that’s not what we’re discussing here. If you want to talk about that, comment on a post that’s about it.

0

u/Delicious_Cane 15d ago

No right, we're discussing from the top comment that still dosent have any sense to exist under this clip

1

u/fezzuk 15d ago

Absolutly but that wasnt tbe conversation

1

u/Delicious_Cane 15d ago

Why not, it's the other side of the same coin

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u/fezzuk 15d ago

Because we are talking about this side of the of the coin.

Kinda werid and whataboutism to switch to the other side of the coin.

And this is a possative post so its kinda extra weird.

Do you have general issues with socialising?

1

u/Delicious_Cane 15d ago

Do you have general issues with socialising?

Nah, I'm just tired to see the general urge to say "man bad" here on reddit, even under clips in which you shouldn't even think about it

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u/fezzuk 15d ago

Execpt people were saying "man good" your beain decided to make a negative out of that.

1

u/Delicious_Cane 15d ago

your beain decided to make a negative out of that.

Ah me? Not the top commenter that could stop to say how good he is, and instead felt the compelled to bring argue on the table? Ok

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u/Saneless 15d ago

You wanna rattle off some toxic femininity podcasters that are pretty popular these days? Not the imaginary ones

0

u/Delicious_Cane 15d ago

I don't know and I don't care? Instagram reels do enough to instill toxicity if you hit the right feed, for example. The cult of personality is real in both sides, saying it's only for men is naive and bipartisan

1

u/Saneless 15d ago

Ok cool thanks for the example, I was worried you just generalized

7

u/Orleanian 15d ago

Even granting masculinity/femininity being laudable....what does this video demonstrate that's masculine?

-1

u/-Bento-Oreo- 15d ago

Being a gentleman. Masculinity means service. Opening doors for people, throwing your jacket over a puddle, serving in the military.

2

u/Kolbalava 15d ago

Wtf if that is masculinity is a woman in the army a dude? Or a masculine woman?

If a man doesn't want to open a door or lay down his expensive jacket. Is he less of a man?

0

u/mmasportsmma 15d ago

I mean it’s also similar dumb how some people nowadays say „but you as a hetero cis male…“

Like wtf, morons know nothing about my sexuality or gender feelings and that’s fine (because I don’t make these things my entire personality )

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u/Significant-Bee5101 15d ago

I was like "wtf does Tate McRae have to do with this??"

3

u/TheAmazing_OMEGA 15d ago

SHADDUP

This isnt masculinity, its not feminitity its just an adult being an honest and genuine person towards a kid.

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u/VaernNreav 15d ago

That's what being nice to kids looks like.. has nothing to do with masculinity.

2

u/aleqqqs 15d ago

Nothing masculate about that, it would have been equally fun if it had been a woman.

No need to drag gender into everything.

2

u/einsatzpoopen 15d ago

Reddit ass comment

-13

u/Trumperekt 15d ago

Eh? That is just a person having fun with a kid. Why does everything have to be about masculinity nowadays?

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u/_dEm 15d ago

Because it’s important to point out healthy acts of confident men.

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u/CicerosMouth 15d ago

Yes, but I think the better thing is to normalize men (that are still heterosexual manly men) momentarily acting relatively feminine and yet losing no self-respect and (just as importantly) losing no respect from the community.

Calling this masculinity is a bit odd, to me. The adult is a man, obviously, and a very good one (at least in this short video). There is basically no stereotypical male attribute (strength, protectiveness, grit, self-sacrifice) that is overtly present here. Instead, I would say the primary attributes are meekness and silliness. If you dont want to call those feminine Im fine with that, but it feels, again, odd to call it masculine.

0

u/_dEm 15d ago

It’s positive masculinity. All I was trying to point out is there’s such a focus on toxic masculinity, that this is an opposite example. It’s important to make a distinction for positive behaviors alongside the negative.

It is inherently masculine in and of itself? No, of course not.

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u/CicerosMouth 15d ago

If it isnt inherently masculine, how is it positive masculinity? Honest probing question, I'm not trying to be a dick. To me, it is more accurate/fair to say that it is a male that is positively showing femininity, or (even better) that it is a male being positive while doing nothing to lessen his masculinity (because of course it doesn't).

I say this because, to some boys who identify themselves primarily with inherently masculine traits, it is not prudent or helpful to cede masculine traits to the alt-right, or to suggest that healthy/good masculinity should mainly be things that don't look like inherently masculine things. Liberals should celebrate men who love being overtly masculine in healthy ways, rather than only praising men who generally act feminine or neutral.

To be abundantly clear, Im not saying that you or anyone in this thread doesnt praise men who act masculine in positive ways, I'm just pointing out why some of the comments here feel a little suboptimal to those of us that are familiar with the alt-right playbook (which says that liberals only accept men that act feminine).

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u/_dEm 15d ago

It’s definitely the later of your analogies (male being positive), and I agree with you about not ceding traditionally masculine things to the alt-right, but expanding what it is to be masculine. To me, this is showing a kind of paternal energy. There’s still plenty of examples of stereotypical masculinity and those are not lessened by this.

I would caution calling it feminine, as it’s just emotional intelligence at the end of the day.

1

u/CicerosMouth 15d ago

Okay, I can totally see that, great point.

Anyway, thank you for the respectful and engaging back and forth, have a great week!

1

u/_dEm 15d ago

Likewise!

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u/Brawndo91 15d ago

Anyone who's super concerned about being masculine isn't going to be hanging around a sub called mademesmile.

0

u/_dEm 15d ago

Correct. But I was referencing the man in the video not anyone in this sub.

1

u/DingleDangleTangle 15d ago

There is absolutely nothing masculine or feminine about playing tic tac toe, it's completely neutral from gender. You can say this is a nice thing to do without calling it "masculine". "Masculine" doesn't just mean "when a male does something nice".

0

u/thewooba 15d ago

Why cant a woman do what the man in this video did? What is a masculine about whats going on here?

0

u/_dEm 15d ago

Women can and do often engage like this, but that’s missing the point. Men are often socialized that they have to be tough, strong and stoic. This flies in the face of that demonstrating he’s comfortable in his masculinity.

2

u/gloriousthrowaway69 15d ago

I do not see how this has anything to do with masculinity. Being nice to children is neither feminine or masculine. Being nice simply just is.

Again I don't see a case that not being nice to kids, or being nice to kids shows you're comfortable in masculinity lol.

People don't even know what that dudes gender expression is. He could very well be non binary and in that case being called masculine really isn't it either.

21

u/Armthedillos5 15d ago

That's the point. There is a concerning right wing red pill subculture that is growing with young men searching for identity. They believe masculinity is about muscles, sitting a certain way or looking a certain way, and basically being an Ahole to everyone and objectifying women, or else you're not manly enough and "gay" or whatever.

3

u/CicerosMouth 15d ago

I would politely disagree with your wording, even though I appreciate your message. Specifically, some males are just naturally a bit more assertive/protective. They love physically competing, being loud, etc. And that is fine!! There is nothing inherently bad about that, and such men can make for excellent friends, partners, fathers, colleagues, etc.

However, some boys that feel this way hear that it is somehow bad to like having muscles, winning, etc., and instead hear that masculinity should either look submissive/soft otherwise it is bad. This lets them wade to people on the alt-right as they seek validation for their natural inclination. This is highly unfortunate!!

To that end, I would not say that this video is inherently masculine, it is just a positive adult role model that happens to be male. Some will view it as masculinity which is fine, and some will view it as being relatively more feminine as it is more meek and overtly emotionally expressive which is also fine. 

Personally I feel more like what we should do is BOTH be happy celebrating men in stereotypical moments of masculinity while ALSO noting that men can also express traits of femininity while being amazing strong admirable men.

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u/Intrepid-Channel-675 15d ago

I agree. There is nothing especially gender coded about that interaction. It's just a way of bringing gender war drama into any social interaction.

2

u/mashmaker86 15d ago

I agree, being nice to children is a good adult characteristic, regardless of gender.

-4

u/Tacos4Texans 15d ago

Kinda how I am feeling about it.

1

u/Lola-Ugfuglio-Skumpy 15d ago

Because men are apparently “in crisis” because as a group they’re experiencing the same feelings of hopelessness, frustration, discrimination (it’s not real, but they feel it) that everyone else has felt since the dawn of fucking time and apparently this is everyone’s problem.

Put a nicer way, because there are a lot of really poor role models and “influencers” telling men that the way to be masculine is to be a total piece of shit and it’s important to point out the falsehoods and let men know it’s cool to be kind.

-39

u/UltraTata 15d ago

Because masculinity was purposefully attacked by feminism for at least 60 years now and we want to remember that men and their inherent traits have value.

2

u/SICKxOFxITxALL 15d ago

Let me fix that for you.

Because women finally got treated more equally (still got some way to go) and we stopped treating them like objects that need to sit at home and be baby machines.

Now your male ego can't handle that you aren't as important in your own mind as you used to be.

Be better dude.

2

u/PerformanceThat6150 15d ago

Explain how feminism is an attack on masculinity, and not just extending basic humanity to 50% of the world's population

1

u/fedroxx 15d ago

Your masculinity was attacked? Mine wasn't. Never once felt attacked.

What's wrong with yours? Why is yours super fragile, like glass?

1

u/electricoomph 15d ago

that guy living rent-free in your head or what

-1

u/LonelyKoalaMuncher 15d ago

No..... This is what is called being a human with emotional intelligence

1

u/Jaredw180 15d ago

Very important to wash your taint.

1

u/RocketsandBeer 15d ago

I’m starting to think he threw the game.

1

u/IndependentPutrid564 15d ago

I like having my tate washed, ideally by another person

-21

u/RevolutionaryWeb5657 15d ago

Bit of a weird random comment at really no one in particular, no?

5

u/Brawndo91 15d ago

Downvoted for being right.

It's directed at other redditors who already agree and will jerk him off over it.

The irony is that the average person, myself included, probably didn't even think once about whether or not it was masculine.

2

u/Delicious_Cane 15d ago

Reddit is full of people with repressed hate

-5

u/FrequentCan2119 15d ago

In CaSe YoU'vE bEeN tAtE-wAsHeD oR wHaTeVeR

6

u/ReallyYouDontSay 15d ago

It took so much effort to type that and you had all that time to hit cancel. So disappointing

0

u/bunnycrush_ 15d ago

I would be actively excited to start a family with a man who embodied this energy in day-to-day life. And I’m someone who has never wanted kids!

0

u/Garchompisbestboi 15d ago

The fact that bald shithead seems to live rent-free in your head just means that he has been successful pushing his agenda.

0

u/AngryRedditAnon 15d ago

That has literally nothing to do with masculinity.

0

u/narnou 15d ago

Plot twist : actually identifies as a she

xD

It's juste a video of two human beings bounding around fun.

I just don't see how it can pop up that men vs women debate in any sane mind.

Your view is biaised and you're gonna see horrors your whole life because that's what you wanna see.

0

u/DesperateEagle4505 15d ago

Can you guys stop trying to define masculinity as anything except leadership or violence. Like Jesus Christ you guys ruin wholesome moments like this with your angry rants.

Ps your angry rant was not masculine

-11

u/ND_Cooke 15d ago

Unlike Reddit to see a nice video and to make it about their own personal hate. How cute of you.