ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the question of the social psychological implications of being the target of toleration: what it means to be tolerated. On the one hand, tolerance is a useful discourse for minorities and a critical defence against censorship, discrimination, and persecution of minority voices. It allows minority members to express their views and beliefs, enact their identities, provides access to resources and rights, and protects them from violence. However, on the other hand, tolerance might also have unintended negative consequences for those who are tolerated. Critics argue that we should go beyond mere tolerance, because tolerance is patronising and demeaning and can function as a subtle social mechanism contributing to domination and inequality, and the depoliticisation of diversity. This chapter discusses these different arguments and our qualitative, quantitative, and experimental research that aims to examine the possible unintended negative implications that being tolerated can have.
