Moving your hand gently and repeatedly over something; in swimming, the movement of limbs to propel through water; or moving your fingers along a surface.
From Old English 'stracian,' meaning to stroke or caress. The word has had consistent meaning for over 1,000 years and is related to the sensation of gentle repeated touch.
Stroking and petting activate the parasympathetic nervous system in both humans and animals, literally calming your nervous system and lowering stress hormones—it's why therapy animals are so powerful in hospitals!
Context-dependent. In emotional labor ('ego stroking'), disproportionately expected of women. Historically feminine affective work made invisible or trivialized.
Specify context clearly. If discussing relational labor, name it—don't assume one gender bears emotional validation work.
["affirming","validating","supporting"]
Women's emotional labor has been unpaid and uncredited; name it explicitly when discussing support work across genders.
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