Objectif is a game created in response to the article, “Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?” published online at Psychology Today. The article is no longer available at the original site, but you can read about it here and see a screenshot here.

The game is played by 3 or more players. At the beginning of the round, three cards are dealt face up from the deck. One player acts as the judge and decides which portrait they find most attractive without revealing their decision. Next, the other players guess which portrait the judge has chosen and why. The player with the correct guess and/or closest explanation wins that round. The next judge is selected in a clockwise rotation and three new cards are drawn. The first to win 5 rounds wins the game.

There is also a variant where players judge the least attractive portrait.

Objectif was created to facilitate discussion about our perceptions of attractiveness. Each portrait is hand drawn and painted to represent a black woman. Upon playing a few rounds, players will notice duplicate face templates wherein only the “coloring” has been changed. The inclusion of these duplicates allows players to realize the shallow nature of race or color.

As an art piece, Objectif challenges our perceptions of race, women and beauty while simultaneously revealing the assumptions we make about ourselves and others,