ABSTRACT
This chapter alludes metaphorically to transformed and transgressive sexual identities. The invert assumes the identity of the opposite sex, and the cross-dresser enjoys dressing up in the clothes of, and identifying with, the opposite sex. This analogy is appropriate because much postmodern writing mischievously subverts generic identities. Genre itself has a strong historical dimension. Genres have transformed over the centuries, and their forms and content have been shaped by, or developed in resistance to, historical pressures. Postmodernist writing has played a double game with genre: both paying homage to it and yet pulling the rug from beneath its feet. Discontinuous prose is a versatile form which breaks up narrative or expository writing: it is the bread and butter of experimental prose writers. Discontinuous prose is written in sections, and breaks up any continuous narrative flow.
