With friends like that, who needs enemies?
To me, a friend is someone who has your best interests at heart. The ones your talking about seem to be more like friendly acquaintances (who are particularly shallow and judgemental, more concerned about looks rather than character.)
What you see in this young man is much more focused on the essence of what type of person he is and that’s what you should focus on. Looks change and come and go as we mature and age. But a person’s character pretty much is what it is.
You can’t change them. The best you can do is tell them to back off but you cant control what they say behind your back Their current value system is really shallow and totally sucks, to be blunt abput it They may eventually grow up a bit or they may continue to live the rest of their lives by superficial standards. That’s their loss. Don’t allow it to be yours. And don’t be influenced by them. Steer your own path through life.
And try cultivating a better set of friends with more solid values as you go through life. These are the ones worth listening to.
The only time I would ever listen to the opinion of a friend of mine on my personal relationships (and they had better be a damn good friend) would be if they were trying to warn me about something dangerous, or deceptive which they perceived and I might be glossing over. Even tho I might not immediately drop him, I would definitely be more aware of what it is about him that they might be picking up on and be on the lookout for other clues one way or another.
If their objections were all focused on looks, I wouldn’t listen for a second and tell them clearly, MYOB.
But none of my friends are that superficial so I can’t imagine that scenario at all.
Follow your heart with this guy and be on the lookout for other potential friends with a more compatible value system to yours.