US military spends eight times more on Viagra than gender-affirming care
The judge overseeing the case against the Defense Department's firing of transgender service members revealed that the military spends 8 times more on erectile dysfunction medication than on gender affirming care.
While discussing military spending with the Defense Department (DoD) attorney for the ongoing Talbott v Trump case, Judge Ana Reyes said the DoD spends approximately $5.2 million annually on medical care for service members with gender dysphoria.
Comparatively, the DoD spends $42 million a year on medication for service members with erectile dysfunction.
The US District Judge asked: "It's not even a rounding error, right?"
https://www.newsweek.com/us-military-spending-viagra-gender-affirming-care-2044114Open linkView original on lemmy.world779
Comments51
Viagra is gender affirming care.
So are the T injections conservatives are all taking these days...
Hell, when that one idiot told them to tan their but holes to increase testosterone, that was technically gender affirming care, just not actually effective.
ED meds are gender affirming care, aren't they? If they are gonna cut it out of military spending, cut all of it out.
If that were the case, then bottom-surgery wouldn't be gender affirming care either.
Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding the entire concept. To date, I've never seen a single concrete statement on the topic that doesn't upset someone (discounting bloody right-wingers for whom the entire concept is upsetting, bless their hearts) because it somehow invalidates someone else.
However, we seem to be in agreement that these people are raging assholes, and that's the important takeaway.
I love seeing comments like yours where people change some of their thinking as a result of online discussion.
I was starting to feel like no one listens to understand and only listen to respond, and comments like this help lift me out of that perspective.
Agreed. It's gender affirming for people with very rigid (heh) views on gender roles.
Is bottom surgery not gender affirming care?
It is. Or at least it can be for some folx.
I don't really understand what the "not" is doing in your question.
Well, from that logic, it just sounds like you think cis people shouldn't be able to have the parts they want, but trans people should. How is a trans man getting a working penis different from a cis man getting a working penis, in terms of gender care?
Really confused where you're getting that from, since I said the exact opposite.
They're obviously both gender affirming care, even though many cis people I'm sure would balk at that labeling.
EDIT oh is it the part about "cut it all out" in the original comment? I'm taking that as highlighting the double standard, not a serious request to just cut everyone's care out.
No, it just seems like you saying "it's gender affirming care for people with very rigid views on gender roles" doesn't apply to everyone actually seeking a functional penis, but I think I slightly misinterpreted the comment.
Isn't bottom surgery gender affirming care?
Is not bottom surgery gender affirming care?
Is bottom surgery not gender affirming care?
Same idea, grammatically
If the administration did that, they would have to deal with a coup d'état the next day. 🤣
Viagra is gender affirming care.
Isn't viagra gender affirming care?
That's what I thought.
If God wants you to have a limp dick that is his plan for you!!! How dare you go against God!!! 😆
Dick pills (and hair plugs) are gender affirming, you twats...
100%! If your dick don't work, God doesn't want you using it!!!
It was never about the money being spent. It is about othering fellow Americans and creating a Boogeyman for the Fox/OAN/etc. crowd.
Considering how cheap viagra is, this is actually kind of astonishing.
ED can be a long term symptom of traumatic brain injury. TBI is super common for anyone deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan
"Thanks for killing all those middle eastern kids. Here are your allotted dick pills. Oh and, you're not trans are you?"
That is what viagra is.
I was under the impression that sex had no place in our military. Why’re they helping service members get boners if they aren’t supposed to be fucking in the first place?
On the contrary, the military is very pro getting soldiers to have kids. They incentivize it pretty heavily because a lot of people who serve end up having kids who serve, so they get the generational recommitment out of it
Does the DoD pay for medical treatment of those that have retired? Ive seen some news that viagra also helps treat some problems that arise when the prostate grows too much, like having trouble peeing and some pains.
A lot of people read the comments without having read the article, so for them here's the bit you're taking about:
Makes sense. How can we expect our troops to drop bombs on middle-eastern children if they can't get it up?
Doesn't this make sense though, statistically? Aren't men with ED a much larger portion of the population than people trying to transition?
I would say that yes, this is expected, but goes to show how much the cost of gender affirming care is being blown out of proportion by the right.
That's true for sure
Yeah. Too bad the party of Facts and Logic(R) isn’t too keen on facts and logic
Its not a small figure, either
Yeah, headline should have said care for gender dysphoria. Viagra is gender affirming care too...
Nah, thats a "fuck you" to asexual folks.
The DoD knows how to make a soldier happy; blue pills and hummers ;)
And that's just the supply for Hegseth's whiskey dick.
Our taxes should be used to pay for universal health care that covers ALL medical issues, including erectile distribution, gender affirming care, abortions, IVF, etc.
Everything. For everyone.
$5.2m? They’re probably gonna spend more than that just arguing this case. It’s never been about the money.
they could have gotten generic boner pills for much less money.
have they not seen those commercials?
even a gas station poner pill would cost less.
Too Drunk To Fuck
sigh Everything reminds me of her...
And some of that Viagra is probably used in sexual assault.
Peacetime, wartime, on leave.
I swear, you have to be so entrenched in media to understand a headline like this.
Amphetamines are prob getting a military boost in the coming years.
Thise boner pills are just as important to the US Military mission of raping and pillaging brown countries as the bombs they drop, don't you dare taking them away.
Only one side is allowed to hurt the other without repercussions.
some members of one side are hurting the other side. the repercussions should touch only those responsible, not the whole category theyre part of.
Those buckets of water you are carrying look awfully heavy.
But sure, in general the people who are responsible should be punished. Also, everyone who went along with it to checks notes looks like that includes all Maga.
Because it's already implied that the reader should be a decent human being...
They didn't say not to stick an m80 up you but, are you gonna go do that because no one told you not to today?