Photos on this guide are from from Flickr "This is What Feminists Look Like" feed.
Encyclopedias provide a great entry point into gender studies. This is because they provide a broad overview of a topic, person, or event. They can also be used to identify other terms to use in your searches. Whereas, articles will be really specific and narrow in what they cover. Further, articles will use the language, terminology, and theories other scholars will know.
So if you are starting out on a research topic, you might consider starting with one of the gender studies encyclopedias below. Thinking about these questions will help you identify a research question/statement: Where are the gaps? What isn't covered? Who is or is not represented?
An easy place to start would be in Wikipedia. Just remember, that encyclopedias (including Wikipedia) are considered tertiary sources and are not generally used in our academic writing.
Searching hints:
These guides will offer more databases and web sites in their respective fields.