Something about Simone Biles openly discussing her therapy journey as she collects Olympic medals has further invigorated my belief that matriarchy is rising.

Occasionally I’ll see a fellow leftist share a meme about how therapy is “bad” because capitalism is actually the source of all our problems, and mental healthcare is just an individualized band-aid solution to massive systemic oppression. Every time I see one of these memes, I let out a big, heavy sigh and chalk up another victory for the FBI agent who came up with this brilliant little scheme to keep the left as mentally ill as possible. What an incredibly foolish thing, to discourage our peers from seeking necessary healthcare that is already so difficult to access. For every ten people who simply cannot afford therapy, I would bet there’s at least one person who can afford it but won’t go. And the reason they won’t go is a stigma that I consider extremely patriarchal in nature. The mindset around trauma and mental health is that if you can’t stuff your feelings deep inside of you and white knuckle your way through daily life, despite the gnawing sadness and pain throbbing within, then you just need to stuff it harder. Leftists might try to frame their critique of therapy as some deep statement about capitalism, but I suspect the aversion just comes back to patriarchy, which says dealing with trauma and hard feelings is icky girly shit.

So yeah, I’m pretty excited to see the greatest gymnast of all time — truly one of the greatest athletes ever — take on her own mental health setbacks in a very public way, then come back to win some more gold medals. It not only uplifts her journey, it also helps us see how much psychological strength it takes to be an Olympic gymnast, to keep your balance and stick the landing. It heightens our awareness that all of these women are incredible. It was lovely to see her and her competitors cheering and congratulating each other throughout the competition. The image of her and fellow US gymnast Jordan Chiles bowing to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade as she collected her gold medal in floor exercises makes me want to cry.

In a similar vein, I was also very moved by Team USA’s stunning come-from-behind victory in the women’s rugby sevens bronze medal competition. It was incredible watching these buff warrior women tackle each other again and again, with barely any protective gear. And when Team USA scored their shocking, last-minute conversion goal, many of the girls keeled over in tears. Because how could you not fall over crying in such a situation? As someone who took a long time to learn that tears are a totally natural response to all kinds of intense feelings that need not be hidden, it’s wonderful seeing buff warrior women bawling on an international stage. If the toughest women athletes in the world can cry openly and effusively, then I don’t think we have to call it icky girly shit anymore. I believe the patriarchal mindset around facing intense, overwhelming feelings might be dying. And we’re replacing it with something much better.