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This document discusses the concept of the flâneur and how its definition has been debated and evolved over time. Key points: 1) Originally the flâneur referred to an idle yet artistic male observer of 19th century urban life, as defined by Baudelaire. 2) Later theorists like Simmel, Benjamin, and others complicated this definition, examining aspects like the flâneur's detachment from or interaction with the crowds. 3) Feminist scholars critiqued the early masculine focus and explored how gender shaped the experience of urban observing. The document examines the ambiguities and paradoxes in defining the flâneur and how it relates to conceptualizing modernity