Tolerated, But Never Equal: The Limits Of Recognising Difference
Résumé
The article examines the South African Constitutional Court’s reliance on toleration as a legal mechanism for recognising difference, particularly concerning LGBTQIA+ individuals. While the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, aspires to achieve substantive equality, foster diversity and uphold human dignity, the article argues that the invocation of toleration does not fully realise that vision. Instead, it merely accommodates difference within predefined limits, maintaining entrenched social hierarchies and, in turn, fails to dismantle systemic discrimination. Through an analysis of landmark cases – including National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice, National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs, and Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie, the article explores how the court frames legal recognition without fully disrupting dominant social norms. It highlights how toleration, while often perceived as a progressive legal mechanism for promoting inclusion and diversity, functions as a conditional and asymmetrical practice in which the dominant group determines the boundaries of what is acceptable. Ultimately, the article critiques the court’s jurisprudence for reinforcing rather than transforming power structures. It argues that toleration results in superficial inclusion – a façade of legal protection that masks deeper structural inequalities. Rather than giving effect to the ideals of the Constitution, toleration operates as a mechanism for regulating full legal and social belonging and limiting true substantive equality.
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