My discomfort grew as I watched Trump’s open condescension when he turned to address Clinton with a smug smile. "In all fairness to Secretary Clinton…Is that OK?" he asked her, as if she should be grateful he was using the title she had earned. In acting like he had bestowed it upon her, he not-so-subtly attempted to question the competency through which she had earned it. When she nodded in response, he sneered: "I want you to be very happy; it’s very important to me."

I know a thing or two about men who bully women on the political stage: Three years ago, I stood on the Texas state senate floor for almost 13 hours to filibuster a highly restrictive abortion bill while many of my male colleagues tried every tactic imaginable to sit me back down. To put me back in my place. And, like Clinton, I learned that the best way to manage them is through calm, collected, and continued commitment to our cause. On that day, I was fighting for women’s reproductive freedoms. Last night, I felt like Clinton was fighting for us to be equal participants in the future of America.