Hardline is a subculture that has its roots in the vegan straight edge hardcore punk scene. It is commonly seen as a more extreme version of straight edge, with influences from deep ecology philosophy. From its outset, hardline adherents put out statements and literature pushing a biocentric view of the world, which advocated for veganism, animal rights, anti-abortion, anti-homosexuality, and a much more militant version of the straight edge philosophy, which advocates for a no alcohol, no drugs, no tobacco lifestyle. The hardline worldview has been accused by critics as ecoauthoritarian. Hardline co-founder Sean Muttaqi adamantly rejected racism and fascism. A handful of hardline bands existed, the most well known of which were Vegan Reich and Raid. Earth Crisis was loosely aligned with the subculture, but were not necessarily classified as a hardline band. The heyday of hardline was in the early to mid-1990s when hardline chapters existed in a number of cities across the United States as well in the United Kingdom and Germany. However, by end of the 1990s, the subculture had mostly faded out of existence.
Beliefs The Hardline philosophy forbids its adherents from smoking or chewing any form of tobacco, drinking alcoholic beverages, and using illicit drugs or employing medicine. Hardliners (as they are called) are expected to follow a strict dietary regimen based on the above-mentioned pillars of respect for innocent life and the "natural order". Hardliners eat only foods that are vegan and relatively natural (e.g. brown rice over white, evaporated cane juice over granulated sugar, organic produce over conventional, natural oils over hydrogenated oils). Human rights issues are also factored into the movement's "food politics", and followers are urged to shun third-world cash crops such as coffee, chocolate, sugar, and most tropical fruits. Hardliners include caffeine in their stance on mind-altering drugs so the first two items are generally abstained from, but consumption of the last two is often given more leeway. The sexual politics of the Hardline movement are very conservative. Sex is not allowed except for the reason of procreation; thus homosexuality is seen as anathema. Pornography and masturbation are abjured. The use of birth control is avoided, and the practice of abortion is militantly opposed. Although the Hardliner stance on sexual activity is that its natural purpose is purely procreative, many hardliners justify recreational sex within the context of committed relationships as potentially procreative by opting not to use fertility control. Hardline has always been highly syncretic (over time absorbing influences from Islam and a host of other schools of thought) and initially claimed a Taoist foundation for their sexual morals. This appeal to the orientation of the punk and hardcore scenes met with little success, and the topics of abortion and homosexuality have always been sources of tension between hardliners and their subcultural cousins.
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