It’s National Masturbation Month, so what song is more fitting than the super catchy 90s hit with its straight-to-the-point title “I Touch Myself?” The ode to self-pleasure by Australian band Divinyls, from their 1990 album diVINYLS, was everywhere when it climbed the charts, reaching the top spot in Australia and number four on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 chart.
We owe this masturbation song hit to the songwriting talents of Divinyls singer Christina “Chrissy” Amphlett, Divinyls guitarist Mark McEntee, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, a duo who were also behind such hugely popular songs as “Like a Virgin” by Madonna, “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, “So Emotional” by Whitney Houston” and “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles.
Amphlett told the Los Angeles Times in 1991 of the Divinyls’ breakout hit, “Well, I don’t think it’s as steamy as it could be. It’s quite tame really. It’s very accessible–MTV plays it a lot. I guess I shouldn’t complain. I don’t know why the song is such a big hit, I guess it just stimulates the imagination.”
The song has had a lasting impact beyond its erotic overtones. Amphlett passed way from breast cancer in 2014. A U.S. registered breast health charity titled the I Touch Myself Project was created in Amphlett’s honor. The I Touch Myself Project’s website states, “Chrissy was passionate about spreading awareness of the importance of early detection and wanted the global hit song I Touch Myself to be adapted as an anthem for breast health around the world.”
In 2018, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Serena Williams posted a video on Instagram as part of the I Touch Myself Project of her singing along to “I Touch Myself” in order “to remind women to self-check regularly.” The tennis champion wrote in the caption, “Yes, this put me out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do it because it’s an issue that affects all women of all colors, all around the world. Early detection is key – it saves so many lives. I just hope this helps to remind women of that.”
With lyrics like these, “I Touch Myself” is the Divinyls’ forever-relevant way of putting masturbation and sexual desire front and center: