Nicole Rekant '97 says she and her friends like to "make fun of the women" featured in the magazines.
As long as the magazines are read with cynicism, some students say, then the gender politics disappear.
"I don't think they're offensive or degrading or anything, as long as you're not taking them as gospel," says Corinne E. Funk '97, who subscribes to Cosmopolitan and Glamour.
"You just take them with a grain of salt," adds Funk, who is a Crimson editor and a member of the editorial board of Lighthouse, an undergraduate publication which deals with women's issues.
After all, students say, the reason they read these magazines is often to get away from academic texts fraught with meaning.
Asked why she reads these publications, Naomi L.Reid '97 says: "It's a nice break from Kant."