Another target of frequent criticism by proponents of gender-neutral language is the use of the masculine pronoun "he" (and its derived forms "him", "his" and "himself") to refer to antecedents of indeterminate gender. Although this usage is traditional, its critics argue that it was invented and propagated by males, whose explicit goal was the linguistic representation of male superiority. The use of the generic "he" was approved in an Act of Parliament, the Interpretation Act 1850 (the provision continues in the Interpretation Act 1978, although this states equally that the feminine includes the masculine). On the other hand, in 1879 the word "he" in by-laws was used to block admission of women to the Massachusetts Medical Society.