this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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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?"

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[–] A7thStone@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago

And that's just the supply for Hegseth's whiskey dick.

[–] RedditIsDeddit@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago

I don't think the taxpayers should subsidize male erections.... call me crazy.

[–] OmegaMan 9 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Doesn't this make sense though, statistically? Aren't men with ED a much larger portion of the population than people trying to transition?

[–] 1995ToyotaCorolla@lemmy.world 11 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] OmegaMan 3 points 1 hour ago

That's true for sure

[–] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 14 points 5 hours ago

That is what viagra is.

[–] O_R_I_O_N@lemm.ee 8 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

The DoD knows how to make a soldier happy; blue pills and hummers ;)

[–] guyoverthere123@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] WeekendClock@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

It very likely is generic.

All my meds from the VA are generic.

[–] selkiesidhe@lemm.ee 48 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

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...

[–] BendingHawk@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

100%! If your dick don't work, God doesn't want you using it!!!

[–] Tiger666@lemmy.ca 78 points 21 hours ago

Isn't viagra gender affirming care?

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 10 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

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.

Its not a small figure, either

[–] tamman2000@lemm.ee 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Yeah, headline should have said care for gender dysphoria. Viagra is gender affirming care too...

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 1 points 1 hour ago

Nah, thats a "fuck you" to asexual folks.

[–] PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.social 94 points 23 hours ago

Viagra is gender affirming care.

[–] Archangel1313@lemm.ee 43 points 21 hours ago

Ummm....that IS "gender affirming care", though.

[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 242 points 1 day ago

Viagra is gender affirming care.

[–] SaltSong@startrek.website 182 points 1 day ago (2 children)

ED meds are gender affirming care, aren't they? If they are gonna cut it out of military spending, cut all of it out.

[–] Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 33 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

(Edit - my thoughts on this may have been incomplete/pedantic. There's very good arguments below that "functional genitalia" is "affirmation of gender" for a lot of people, cis or trans. Leaving comment unchanged for clarity.)

I'm not a huge fan of intrinsically connecting medication for sexual function with medication for gender-affirming care.

Obviously gender and sexuality are deeply intertwined, but it suggests to me that "masculinity" = "functional male genitals"? Which isn't great for transgender or cisgender men. I might be reading too much into that though.

That being said, none of this is about the cost of the medications, so pointing out that we spend 8x as much on male sexuality than we do on gender care is a good way to drive that point home. They're not saving money. The cruelty is the point.

[–] FoxyFerengi@lemm.ee 32 points 1 day ago

I think it can be considered gender affirming care, because I have known a few men who felt like "less of a man" when they struggled with ED. Obviously you're correct that sexual function does not define a man, but for some men it is a defining part of how they experience life as a man

[–] SaltSong@startrek.website 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I’m not a huge fan of intrinsically connecting medication for sexual function with medication for gender-affirming care.

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.

[–] Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

If that were the case, then bottom-surgery wouldn’t be gender affirming care either.

Hmm. That's a good point! It's pretty difficult to argue "functioning male genitals" =/= "gender-affirming care" in that scenario. Thanks for checking me on that, I'll edit my comment.

However, we seem to be in agreement that these people are raging assholes, and that’s the important takeaway.

Always important to remember the real problem! We should never let "perfect" be the enemy of "good" when it comes to social progress, and comments like mine may be an example of ~~unnecessarily~~ incorrectly pushing toward "perfect"

We must all be allies in defense of human rights.

[–] TwistyLex@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 29 minutes ago

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.

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Agreed. It's gender affirming for people with very rigid (heh) views on gender roles.

[–] tarrox1992@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Is bottom surgery not gender affirming care?

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[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 31 points 1 day ago

It was never about the money being spent. It is about othering fellow Americans and creating a Boogeyman for the Fox/OAN/etc. crowd.

[–] graycube@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Considering how cheap viagra is, this is actually kind of astonishing.

[–] Brown5500@sh.itjust.works 9 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

ED can be a long term symptom of traumatic brain injury. TBI is super common for anyone deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan

[–] CalipherJones@lemmy.world 12 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

"Thanks for killing all those middle eastern kids. Here are your allotted dick pills. Oh and, you're not trans are you?"

  • Uncle Sam
[–] SuiXi3D@fedia.io 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)

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?

[–] ToastedRavioli@midwest.social 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 9 points 23 hours ago

That and people literally get to where they feel trapped in the military by their kids. Can't afford to separate and lose that Tricare or on-base daycare.

[–] zeca@lemmy.eco.br 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"egregiously misquoted" sounds a lot like lying. I'm pretty sure that lying in federal court filings is a felony. These lawyers should be censured at minimum.

False Statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001)

The principal federal false statement statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1001, proscribes false statements, concealment, or false documentation in any matter within the jurisdiction of any of the three branches of the federal government. It applies generally within the executive branch. Within the judicial branch, it applies to all but presentations to the court by parties or their attorneys in judicial proceedings. Within the legislative branch, it applies to administrative matters such as procurement, as well as to "any investigations and reviews, conducted pursuant to the authority of any committee, subcommittee, commission, or office of the Congress consistent with applicable rules of the House or Senate."

[–] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A lot of people read the comments without having read the article, so for them here's the bit you're taking about:

At one point, attorneys had to admit to Reyes that they had never read articles which were included as evidence. Reyes then said they had "cherry picked" and "egregiously misquoted" studies put forward by the Pentagon on transgender people decreasing the lethality of the military.

[–] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Thanks. I really should have quoted the whole passage.

Makes sense. How can we expect our troops to drop bombs on middle-eastern children if they can't get it up?

[–] kibiz0r@midwest.social 7 points 1 day ago

$5.2m? They’re probably gonna spend more than that just arguing this case. It’s never been about the money.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] some_dude@lemm.ee 2 points 18 hours ago

sigh Everything reminds me of her...

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

And some of that Viagra is probably used in sexual assault.

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[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 2 points 23 hours ago

Amphetamines are prob getting a military boost in the coming years.

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