Meet market or meat market, is an originally pejorative term referring to two related phenomena:

The term has, in general, evolved to mean a place or activity at which single persons congregate, and has become value neutral or positive.

The sexual revolution of the 1960s and the internal migration of Americans to big cities meant that singles events in mid and large-size cities quickly replaced local town activities where participants previously knew each other. By the 1970s, singles events had developed a reputation as a "ritual of lies and mistrust", replete with men in search of casual sex, cold and unfriendly women, and frequent misunderstandings.

Events and bars, lounges, and nightclubs frequented by singles became known as meet/meat markets, or places where attendees rapidly sized up members of the opposite sex with objectifying criteria, such as attractiveness, wealth, and fashion sense, before taking the time to get to know attendees on a deeper level.

In recent years, the term meet market has become neutral or even been reclaimed largely by commentators on the single scene and event promoters.

Julian Dana William McMahon (/ˈdʒuːliən məkˈmɑːn/; born 27 July 1968) is an Australian actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayals of Cole Turner in The WB hit series Charmed, womanizing plastic surgeon Christian Troy on the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning TV show Nip/Tuck, and Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

McMahon was born in Sydney, Australia, the second of the three children of William "Billy" McMahon, MP and future Australian Prime Minister, and his wife Sonia McMahon, a former occupational therapist and fashion icon. He has an older sister, Melinda, and a younger sister, Deborah. McMahon has Irish ancestry.

McMahon was educated at Sydney Grammar School, a private boys school.^{[citation needed]} He briefly studied Law at the University of Sydney and Economics at the University of Wollongong,^{[citation needed]} but this bored him and he started a successful modeling career. Because of this, he became known in the fashion capitals Milan, London, New York, Rome, and Paris.^{[citation needed]}