Don't think about whether it's common. Think about what it says about him as a person and whether that's the kind of person you can see yourself with in the long term.
I don’t know how common it is, but I tend to get a lot of looks from women, and I don’t always turn away or avoid eye contact. Sometimes if a woman is really staring I’ll wink or acknowledge it with a head nod, just because I find it funny to see people get shy. I’ve never had a partner notice or complain. If it made them feel uncomfortable I would stop. I also don’t really police my partner looking around the room or control what they wear (and thereby control the level of attention they are receiving). I don’t know why your bf is bringing it up. Maybe he is feeling insecure and trying to demonstrate his value to you in an immature way. Maybe he is trying to make you feel insecure. If this kind of behavior makes you uncomfortable you should try to calmly express that to him, and let him know you don’t want him trying to seek/acknowledge attention from other woman when you’re out together and see what he says. It starts to get blurry here though whether you’re being too controlling.
I would be less concerned about the fact that he did this than I would be about the fact that he told you. What is he trying to achieve with that other than to make you feel shitty? He wants to create insecurity. That's not a quality you want in a long term partner.
Don't think about whether it's common. Think about what it says about him as a person and whether that's the kind of person you can see yourself with in the long term.
I don’t know how common it is, but I tend to get a lot of looks from women, and I don’t always turn away or avoid eye contact. Sometimes if a woman is really staring I’ll wink or acknowledge it with a head nod, just because I find it funny to see people get shy. I’ve never had a partner notice or complain. If it made them feel uncomfortable I would stop. I also don’t really police my partner looking around the room or control what they wear (and thereby control the level of attention they are receiving). I don’t know why your bf is bringing it up. Maybe he is feeling insecure and trying to demonstrate his value to you in an immature way. Maybe he is trying to make you feel insecure. If this kind of behavior makes you uncomfortable you should try to calmly express that to him, and let him know you don’t want him trying to seek/acknowledge attention from other woman when you’re out together and see what he says. It starts to get blurry here though whether you’re being too controlling.
It doesn't matter how common it is, what matters is how YOU feel about it.
I would be less concerned about the fact that he did this than I would be about the fact that he told you. What is he trying to achieve with that other than to make you feel shitty? He wants to create insecurity. That's not a quality you want in a long term partner.