Brendan Burke's Case Study

893 Words4 Pages

Society is viewed as a social organization that consists of human beings that share a diverse culture, and dynamic relationships. In order to maintain stability within these societies, their social institutions must remain organized, and their functions successfully met. I believe the functionality of many social institutions is necessary for a Canadian society, in order to promote healthy development, such as having a proper governmental institution to avoid corruption at the governmental level, a proper family institution in order for individuals to avoid hardships as they develop, and a proper educational institution in order for individuals to remain educated on various societal matters. Canada’s unstable governmental institutions during …show more content…

Brendan Burke had a functional family institution that allowed him to have a supportive and happy life at home, even after having admitted to being openly gay. As mentioned in the Vanier summarization of functionality, when families socialize with their children, it provides them with the skills, knowledge, values, and attitudes of their society, which equip them to work and relate to others within appropriate adult roles. In Brendan’s case, he was able to use these skills, knowledge, and values to advocate for the LGBT community, within a respectful adult role. In today’s society, LGBT awareness in sports isn’t considered the norm and allows behaviors such as “locker room talk”, discriminative slurs, or judgment to be present in today’s society. This response from society demonstrates how important social institutions such as a functional family institution can be. In Brendan Burke’s case, he was able to lean on his family and hockey team for moral support and aiding him in keeping a healthy state of mind when interacting with negativity from society. When an individual does not have a social institution, which is functional, negative factors such as depression, contemplating suicide, and having unhealthy state of mind can come into play when going against the norm, such as being gay and playing sports. Thus having functional social institutions such as a family system can help individuals cope with negative pressures of society, avoid mental illnesses, and live a happier, stress-free