Can women be firemen or mailmen?

[Indy Texas]

To me it comes down to whether or not it's necessary to make a distinction. "Actor in a lead role" and "Actress in a lead role" is kind of a necessary distinction. Congresspeople, however, would seem to be preferable to Congressmen as an umbrella term since there are women in Congress.

I'd probably say "poets" unless it was necessary to differentiate between a female and male poet. 

I would prefer we refer to them as Member(s) of Congress, or M.C. for short.