The subjective-objective distinction is fundamental to understanding consciousness in Generative Realism. It's not enough for two things, no matter how special they are, like subjectivity and objectivity, to just be present and have that be consciousness. This is to say that they are intrinsically conscious. I agree with the argument that something does not become conscious just by standing in some relationship to something else. In Generative Realism, for example, we do not say that subjectivity becomes conscious because it stands in a relationship with objectivity.
Subjectivity never becomes conscious.
Rather, we are saying that the relationship itself between subjectivity and objectivity constitutes consciousness. Even so, we need to say what kind of relationship is it exactly, that makes consciousness appear out of the juxtaposition of subjectivity and objectivity. Here, consciousness is defined as an activity, not just a structure. It says that if subjectivity did not act, there would be no consciousness, even if subjectivity and objectivity were both present. So we have two entities and an activity which defines the relationship between them.