Hi! I'm pretty new here myself but it seems to be a very nice, friendly community.
You have to go to the little tab that says "Avatar" (it's in the blue tabs between character and inventory). To get a male you go to where it says "Base" in the options and pick a skin tone with an M by it. There are also some starter clothes in there.
I hope that made sense, if not I'm sure someone else will come along who can explain it better.
Uni has swallowed me whole, in more ways than one, sorry guys. Feel free to PM any questions (or nonquestions {or anything else, no limits here}) you have, although I don't know when I'll get to them since I'm barely on atm.