Not all lunch boxes featured licensed characters—or themes aimed at boys. Boxes with names like “Debutante,” “Corsage,” “Junior Miss” and “Miss America” were designed to appeal to girls beginning in the 1950s. While not as collectible as those that feature popular TV shows, comic-book characters or dolls like Barbie, these aspirational lunch boxes are a reminder of the ways manufacturers perpetuated gender stereotypes.
Manufacturers like King Seeley Thermos Company faced stiff competition from vinyl lunch box makers and a glut of competitors, so they tried themes such as “Campus Queen” to help boost their profit. Since nobody owned the rights to this fictitious campus queen, King Seeley could make more money from each box.
