Chaos reigned supreme over the historic norm of diplomacy and intellectual discourse during the final presidential debate this past Wednesday. Between interruptions, incomprehensible banter, and sassy one-liners, many viewers were turned off by both candidates yet again.

However, one of the candidates proved their rival relatable in a plot twist I can only describe as "orange."

Trump, losing whatever composure he'd managed to smuggle from Pence's desk drawer, called Clinton a nasty woman.

(Photo credit: Huffington Post)

I gasped aloud, and not just at the indecency. Hillary...a nasty woman...everything made sense now. The lingering email-tainted clouds that had been surrounding Clinton had cleared. I basked in the metaphorical light of epiphany. For the first time, Trump's words resonated with me. I was suddenly thrown into a wave of memories.

It was the fall of 2007. I was barely ten. My teacher had passed out the latest Scholastic magazines, the publication's glossy paper catching the fluorescent lights. The world's current events, trends, and news were written in simplified articles for my class to absorb. I remember one of the girls in my class flipping through with eager fingers. She was the first to cry out with excitement:

"Look, it's Hillary Clinton! She's going to be the first girl president!"

Every girl in my class turned to the article with a uniform eagerness usually attributed to recess time. I don't remember the article well, but the image of Hillary Clinton is still vivid in my mind. In a yellow pantsuit, she stood confident as she addressed the crowd. I realized I had never seen a woman look so powerful before. The combined effect of her gestures, demeanor, and confidence was something I had only seen men exhibit in politics. In my experiences, children usually side with their parents on political beliefs. But every girl in my class wanted Clinton to win, regardless of what their parents thought.

I am now in middle school. My best friend had been spreading rumors, each one stamped with my name in bold lettering. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the sudden betrayal. The closest we'd ever come to fighting was when we were discussing which Harry Potter characters were our favorite. We knew each other inside and out, as the phrase goes.

But I was a caricature in those rumors. In one, my writing caused me to be delusional in how I viewed the world. In another, I refused to conform because I was a freak. And, because I refused to wear makeup, I was nasty. The insults were mediocre at best, but insecurity thrives on the broken hearts of adolescents. I was devastated.

The autumnal chill is biting as my friends and I window-shop downtown. I'm a junior in high school, and exploring the less notable parts of the city seemed to be the only cure for course-related suffering. We discuss local gossip and feminism as the wind threatens to scramble our words. Several young men, who appear to be in their twenties, check us out as we walk by. The wind carries one of their statements to my ears:

"Which one do you think is the nastiest?"

Later that year, I'm in class. I've finished an assignment before anyone else and doodle on the end of the paper to pass the time. After all, I can't be expected to be any more productive on a Friday afternoon. I listen in on the conversation that the boys sitting next to me are having. With my earbuds in, they're oblivious to my eavesdropping. They're ranking the girls in our class,.

"Tahera's definitely the worst—"

"Obviously! She doesn't even try to look pretty!"

"—she acts nice, but I bet she's nasty!"

I take no offense at the words, but wish they would focus on something more productive than degradation. I'd never even engaged in conversation with any of them before. Their statements had no foundation.

I know I am not the only woman who has been bullied, objectified, and ridiculed. Every woman has stories of belittlement to tell, regardless of social position. And at least one of those stories involves being called "nasty" or worse. But we take slander with grace, our ambitions trampling each twisted insult thrown our way. Hillary Clinton is no different, even with her elite status in society.

(Photo credit: The New York Times)

In her interview with Humans of New York, Clinton describes men verbally attacking her before a law school admissions test. Her famous speech in Beijing during the Fourth World Conference—where she proclaimed that "women's rights are human rights"—almost never happened because her proclamations were deemed radical. Clinton continues to face opposition because of her womanhood. But in present day, her opposition has come to life in the form of a ruthless man.

In an article by Bob Cesca for Salon, he states that "Clinton is facing a demonic chimera of all the woman-hating goons who’ve fought to hold her back. Conversely, Trump is facing an opponent who karmically represents, in a way, all of the women he’s wronged."

In essence, Clinton is facing the personification of the man all women dread. Trump is a bully, objectifier, and ridiculer. But he is a man every woman will likely meet in her lifetime. Among the turbulence of the political season, people often forget that Clinton faces more scrutiny and judgement because she is a woman.

But Trump's words at the debate were a brutal reminder.

That's why #nastywoman started trending during and after the debate. That's why merchandise on Redbubble and Etsy has emerged with the words "I'm a nasty woman" printed upon them as a proclamation of empowerment.

If Hillary Clinton wasn't a symbol of women conquering sexism before, she certainly is now.